Marc Coucke, Anderlecht’s main shareholder, went on a debate show, Happy Hour, on VTM (a Flemish channel). He talked about journalists. According to Voetbalkrant, he said: “A number of journalists who, we know, actually support another team are trying to destabilise us. Or are they waiting for things to go a bit worse? Obviously.”
I read that at the chip shop, on Monday. My weekly was folded next to the paper cone.
He called “pure fake news” the article saying Vitor Bruno had been given three more games to prove himself. Fake news. In 1980, we said “an error in the newspaper”. You learned it the following Thursday, on page six, in small print. And that was that.
There was another detail. On the show, the journalist shown on screen was not the one who had written the articles. Marc Coucke was irritated by it. In my day, you didn’t see journalists’ faces. You saw their initials. Sometimes they got the initials wrong. Nobody made a show of it.
The context is known. Knocked out of the Croky Cup (the Belgian cup) by Beerschot. Disappointing European results. Four-nil against Gent. He says there is “no crisis at all”, and that the club played well against Gent for a long time. He finds Vitor Bruno very talented, admits a lack of experience, and the club wants to support him.
I’m not criticising. I’m comparing. Before, a defeat was a grey Monday. Today it’s a televised debate, a denial, and a photo of the wrong journalist.
Marcel, were there debate shows in 1980? I looked, I couldn’t find the time slot.
There were. We switched them off. The next games are against Westerlo, Salzburg and Club Bruges. Well. It’s the times.
It’s true, we checked: Voetbalkrant.
