Last night at Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium Barça's Cameroonian forward Samuel Eto'o apparently spit on an Athletic de Bilbao player. If the league's disciplinary board determines that he actually did, then he should of course receive the appropriate penalty. A suspension of a game or two without pay. of course, would be about right. No problems so far.

However, Athletic's coach, neanderthal throwback Javier Clemente, who is a very dislikeable and obnoxious wannabe tough guy. said that Eto'o had behaved "like someone who just climbed down out of the trees." That was not acceptable. Critize Eto'o's behavior all you want and I'll stand right beside you, but these black man = monkey comparisons are much more invidious than anything Samuel Eto'o did last night. I can't believe the black players stand for it. 

It's not unusual for Spanish soccer fans to make "ooh, ooh" monkey-imitating sounds from the stands when a black player touches the ball, and no club is innocent. Both the Camp Nou and the Bernabeu have seen this racist baiting.

I thought the best response to such behavior was the reaction of the Getafe club's players last year after this issue was in the news. They were disgusted after their own fans made racist insults against black players, and agreed to protest as a team against behavior they thought was wrong. Now, this is wholly admirable behavior, and I for one cheered on the Getafe players.

The problem was that the form of protest they chose was to cover themselves in shoe polish and play a game in blackface. Fortunately, after the players' plan was announced, someone whispered in someone else's ear, and it never happened. It's almost too bad. That would have been so innocently tasteless that I'd have been laughing for weeks.