“His penis is fucking huge.” The fans don’t know what the football player is going through when they sing it

Willy Gnonto, Willy Gnonto
He eats spaghetti
He drinks Moretti
His cock’s fucking massive

So Willy Gnonto eats spaghetti, drinks Moretti (a brand of Italian beer), his dick is fucking huge. That’s what Leeds United fans sang. The 19-year-old Italian footballer, whose parents came to Italy from Ivory Coast, arrived at Leeds in early September but it wasn’t until January 2 that he scored his first goal for his new club. His team got a valuable 2-2 draw with West Ham. The fans were very happy to score in a match against a direct rival in the fight to keep their place in the Premier League. They thought they were giving the young footballer a pleasure. But it was completely different.

Diallo asked the fans to change the lyrics of the song. They didn’t listen

Before the match against Aston Villa, the coach spoke on behalf of the player: “I like that the fans love him so much,” said Jesse Marsch. – But is there a way to modify these chants so that they are just as hot but more respectful?

Fans didn’t really listen when Gnonto scored twice in the FA Cup match against Cardiff City, again the fans worshiped his penis.

The Athletic website wrote about the case. English journalist Jay Harris pointed out that similar chants about black players are common in the stands. Requests not to appear this season have also been sent by Amad Diallo. The 20-year-old from Ivory Coast is a Manchester United player but has been loaned to Sunderland, who play in England’s second tier of league football, this season.

In a special video appearance, the 20-year-old addressed fans, thanking them for chanting his name, but asking them to be more respectful and change the wording of their chant.

The Athletic also recalls the story of Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku, whom Manchester United fans adored with a song about “a Belgian sniper genius with a 24-inch penis”. Then the football player made a statement that he understood good intentions, but would prefer that fans do not sing more similar songs. They didn’t listen.

A fan for a banner with Origi’s penis got a stadium ban

It is also worth mentioning the disgusting banner that a Liverpool fan hung up on the occasion of the Champions League final in 2019. The photo showed Divock Origi, a Belgian Liverpool player, naked, with the European Cup and a penis that looked more like an elephant’s trunk than a human reproductive organ. The move was met with no reaction from law enforcement. It was only when the banner reappeared during a Champions League group match in Liverpool that the club authorities reacted. The fan was punished with a stadium ban, which was lifted when the fan agreed to participate in a special anti-racism program organized by the club.

Harris wonders why fans ignore requests from black gamers not to sing about their idols’ huge penises. One answer is that fans believe they are complimenting the players and do not understand how racial stereotyped they are and how deeply offensive their behavior is.

“You can’t have sex with black men because they’re beasts”

This is explained by Obioma Ugoala, actor and author of the book “The problem with my normal penis”. “Such language dehumanizes black players. It suggests that they are not only unique, but also bizarre and animalistic. This is the same language that made the transatlantic slave trade possible thanks to eugenics, which claimed “in fact, these people are worse than the rest of us in America” ​​and “you can’t have sex with black men because they are beasts.” Once you realize this, you can no longer remain ignorant. It is beyond dispute: will we say enough? Why do we feel we have to keep using these songs? What satisfaction do we feel when we bully players like this? Do we see them as players we root for or as tools or puppets we use? Don’t we see them as people?

According to Harris, songs about big penises of black players should be banned as recently as the term “rent boy” was recently banned. The English phrase – synonymous with male prostitute – was banned by the England federation in January as being homophobic. Any fan who uses it will be punished.