The LOUD support for Mexico at a football match may have hurt South African pride, but let’s keep things in perspective.
Cheering against a team is not the same as hunting down fellow Africans in the streets.
No African was killed because fans supported Mexico.
Yet, over the years, South Africa has witnessed repeated waves of xenophobic attacks in which African migrants and refugees have been assaulted, displaced, robbed, and in some cases murdered simply because they were foreigners. These attacks have targeted Nigerians, Zimbabweans, Mozambicans, Somalis, Ethiopians, Malawians and others. (Human Rights Watch)
If some Africans chose to support Mexico, that is football rivalry.
If Africans have chosen not to sympathize with South Africa, perhaps the continent should first ask why so many Africans carry painful memories of xenophobic violence committed against their brothers and sisters on South African soil.
A stadium full of opposing supporters may bruise emotions.
Xenophobic attacks destroy lives.
The two should never be confused.