BRUSSELS — A Belgian soccer was temporarily stopped on Saturday after visiting fans taunted Japanese goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima over the recent Fukushima nuclear disaster.
The referee halted the match between Lierse SK and Beerschot after some Beerschot supporters began chanting: “Kawashima-Fukushima.”
The match resumed after a delay of several minutes and ended in a 1-1 draw. Kawashima left the field in tears and said later he could forgive many insults, “but not this.”
The casual cruelty demonstrated in this story, combining sports, race, and pleasure in the suffering of others, is haunting.