The Daily Bee (March 23rd, 2021): BVB Fans Show Support for Jude Bellingham After Racist Abuse

Good Morning Fear The Wall!

We’ve all been blown away by the progress Jude Bellingham has made since joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. He has had an incredible season so far, and has far exceeded even the most optimistic expectations. However, he had a rough game at the weekend against Cologne. He made an error that led to a penalty, and struggled to impose himself on the game like he has done for much of the season. Some of us see it as the normal up and downs that come with the development of a very talented 17-year-old prospect, others were a little more frustrated with his performance, feeling that regardless of his age, he has to deliver.

While there might have been some differences in opinion about his performance, I’m pretty sure that none of us felt that it was his skin color that takes the blame, or that we should tell him that we want his mother to die... But some fans certainly did.

Unfortunately, the abuse that Bellingham received is nothing new for Black football players. He wasn’t even the only prominent Black player to receive racist abuse on social media this weekend. Man Utd’s Fred was subject to racism after an error in United’s FA Cup tie against Leicester. Marcus Rashford has been routinely abused by fans for the crime of being a successful Black man and wanting children not to starve to death over Christmas, Wilfried Zaha has been victim to some really horrific abuse on multiple occasions, and many young Black players like Reece James and Youssoufa Moukoko have dealt with racism early on in their careers. Racism is fucking abhorrent. It has no place in civilized society and no place in football.

The positive takeaway here, if there is one, is seeing the volume of support that other fans showed for Bellingham. The club tweeted the image below, with the message: “For every disgusting comment received, there will always be thousands more showing true love, support, and respect.”

@BlackYellow

I’m sure I speak for everyone here when I condemn the vile comments made by some fans, and show full support for Jude. And if I don’t? Well those of you that disagree can kindly fuck off.

Four Borussia Dortmund Players Named in NXGN 2021 Rankings

Goal released their NXGN 2021 rankings, a list of the 50 best players born on or after January 1, 2002, and Borussia Dortmund have four names on the list. Moukoko, Reinier, Bellingham, and Reyna were all in the top 20, and the latter two players made it into the top 5!

Youssoufa Moukoko came in 15th, Reinier 10th, while Jude Bellingham and Gio Reyna were ranked 5th and 3rd, respectively. Reyna finished behind Eduardo Camavinga in 2nd, and Ansu Fati in 1st. Some of the rankings seem a little suspect, and it feels like an awful lot of it is driven by name value more than anything, but it is nice to see BVB players so well represented. I would rate Bellingham higher than Reyna (and to be honest, I’m not sure it’s that close), and I’d probably put Moukoko over Reinier, though it’s possible that my judgment is clouded by the limited impact Reinier has had so far this season.

Elsewhere, the Bundesliga had two other players in the top 10, with Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala rated 8th and Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz at 6th. The future is bright!

The Daily Buzz

What do you make of the NXGN 2021 rankings? Who do you think is the most promising young player in the world?