Resumo de ?playing The Identity Card: Stereotypes In European Football?

This review is a methods critique of Crolley et al (2000) paper that is concerned with the way in which European media discourses shapes readers? awareness of national identities. This review critically assesses the evidence from which the authors draw upon to support their arguments and conclusions. Crolley et al article consists of a critique of the way in which European print media reports on football reinforce myths of national identities. They seem to argue that stereotypes create an artificial division between people, which consequently reinforces ideologies and false beliefs. It is also interesting to notice that, as suggested by the authors, the findings of this article relate to ?a broader interpretative and conceptual framework?? (p. 107). This leads to the next point which is the fact that their paper appeals for a critical and emancipatory project which aims to free everyone from stereotypes. Furthermore, based on the evidence collected, the authors conclude that print media discourses on football has been an ubiquitous factor in reinforcing national identity myths often rooted in wider political and socio-economic realities (p. 126). Crolley et al (2000) writes an interpretative analysis of a series of Spanish, French, English and Dutch newspapers reports on football. This study is qualitative in nature since that it involves article review to collect data. It incorporates two mains; firstly it analyzes the construction of national identities of sport media in European countries. In this respect they comment the following: ?The present article provides a snapshot of a much broader research project analyzing the construction of national, regional and group identities in the sports media of Europe?s most dominant football countries? (p. 107). Secondly, it investigates newspaper?s articles ?and football match reports to gain a preliminary understanding of the mechanisms at work in sports media reflextions of national identity in England, Spain, France and Germany? (p. 107). The sample for this study was drawn from press reports on the European Championships finals in June/July 1996. However, Crolley et al do not provide comprehensive sample information apart from providing newspaper names and publishing dates. It is also important to notice that some newspapers included in the sampling choice may hold different political biases. Thus, one can argue that the reports found in different print media used in this research may reflect their various political orientations and therefore, are not a useful source to drawn from.

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