Short Semester Discourse Analysis

Sarah Mills’ Critical Discourse Analysis on the Local’s News Media

Article about Mesut Özil’s Affair

Edwar Octobriliant

16111031

Universitas Teknokrat Indonesia

edwaroctobriliant@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
The ideology of seeing that particular ethnic is superior, more dominant, or inferior has been
a serious issue in the world history. Racism also happens in football. One of the cases is that
happened to international football player Özil. The research analyzes article in an internation
Germany news media article about Özil. The research aimed at analyzing the subject-object
position and the reader position in the article using Sara Mills’ CDA. The finding shows that
the Germany Football Association (DFB) appears as the subject and Özil appears as the
object. Moreover, the DFB indicates to persuade the reader to see on their perspective.

Keywords: Critical Discourse Analysis, German Association Football, Racism in football,

Özil

INTRODUCTION

Background

Racism still exists among our society. Racism seems to be a part of each culture in the world.
Racism that is spread in our society for over years is dynamic and ever-changing (Hinson,
Healey, and Weisenberg, 2014). Generally, racism is an act of believing that a certain race or
ethnicity is superior or inferior to others. Any act of unfavorably treatment to people because of
their colors, races, ethnicity, nationality, and descent is called as racial discrimination (Szwarc,
2001). Moreover according to Szwarc (2001), racism is an ideological construct that assigns a
certain race and/or ethnic group to a position of power over others. Thus, racism is the ideology
which believed by the society that a particular culture is better, worse, inferior, or superior than
others, even though in the end we are all human being. As human beings, we should respect and
appreciate the differences among us, not to discriminate the differences by giving hate speech,
bullying, and etc.. Racism can happen in all aspect in the world (Boyle, 2003). It can happen in
workplace, education, healthcare, religion, and sports.
 Short Semester Discourse Analysis

Racism in sports has become a struggle for over years. One of the sports that have been a field
for racism is football. Many football players have become the target of racism attack. Moreover,
football in particular has been a place for sectarian and more recent racist fissures as well
(Kowalski, 2004 as cited in Smith and Porter, 2004). Racism can happen also in sport because
there is diversity among the players, clubs, and country. Most of the times the racism attacks are
coming up from the fans. Thus for some people, football is not merely a game, it is not about win
or lose but it is all about passion, pride, tradition, and even religion. That is why people glorify
football that much. When people really into something, they will not accept different idea.
Because people cannot accept the differences, people will start hating it. Immigrant is also one
the cause that racism exists in football. Thus, immigrant makes the players have different
ethnicity. One of the cases happens to international football player: Mesut Özil. Özil was born in
Germany but he has Turks descent blood from his grandfather. In July 2018, Özil announced his
retirement in German National Team due to the criticisms and racism attacks. Özil got the
attacks and criticisms because of controversial photo of him and Turkey president Erdogan. Özil
stated “In the eyes of Grindel and his supporters, I am German when we win, but I am an
immigrant when we lose”. The issue has been an international topic. After that, hash-tag
#MeTwo appears as the form of movement against racism to immigrant people. It shows that
racism in football is a crucial issue in the world. In responding the issue, many media put their
argument about Özil’s affair. Özil’s affair ignited the German. One of German media is the
Local. It is interesting to analyze how the Local takes role in representation the idea on Özil’s
affair.

Media plays important role in presenting the idea of racism. According to Boyle (2003), media
policy and coverage often contribute to a racist vision of social reality by suppressing positive
information about groups targeted by racists. Therefore, Medias are positively expected to be
more persuasive in presenting racism issues. Media representations have important roles in
meaning making (Dyer, 1993 as cited in Reynolds, 2019). Media have power to create the
society’s minds. Media discourse is any interactions that take place through broadcast platform,
either written or spoken (O’Keefe, 2011). Because media discourse is made up, it is important to
analyze how the realization of the idea has been done. One of the tools to analyze the ideology
critically named CDA (Critical Discourse Analysis). According to Van Dijk (1998) as cited in
Amelia (2014), Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) deals with social power abuse, dominance,
inequality and the way these are reproduced by the social group member through text and talk.
CDA is defined as a form of social practice (Wodak and Meyer, 2001 as cited in Amelia, 2014).

Studies on CDA on revealing how mass media portraying the subject of the issue have been
conducted over the years. Number of studies done by Anjarwati (2009), Nabila (2016), Nuryani
and Isnaeni (2019), and all support the issue. According to Nabila (2016), no media is neutral. It
means that media is manufactured. Moreover, since Germany and Turkey getting involved in this
issue, the research is aimed at analyzing the subject-position and reader position of Özil in the
 Short Semester Discourse Analysis

Local (German news media). Because at that moment, Many German were ignited by this
controversial case so that the research is significant to see how German media representing Özil.

THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

Critical Discourse Analysis

Critical Discourse Analysis is aimed at perceiving language as social practices. According to

Wodak and Meyer (2009), any social phenomenon lends itself to critical investigation, to be
challenged and not taken for granted. CDA is characterized by the common interests in de-
mystifying ideologies and power through the systematic and retroductable investigation of
semiotic data either written or spoken (Wodak and Meyer, 2009). Moreover, discourse as social
practice means that discourse has inter-relation between particular discursive event and the
situation, institution, and the social structure around. Discourse is a social component and the
reflection of society. Thus, discourse is situations, objects of knowledge and the social identities
of and relationships between people and groups of people (Anjarwati, 2009). Moreover,
discursive practices may contain certain ideologies which are able to produce or reproduce
power, inequality, hegemony, social classes, men and women, and racism (Fairclough and
Wodak, 1997).

Sara Mills’s Critical Discourse Analysis

Most of Sara Mills’ work is about feminist discourse. Therefore, Mill’s theory is known as
feminist perspective. Feminist on discourse analysis is about analyzing how women are being
represented in certain novel, picture, photo, song, and text. According to Anjarwati (2009), the
main core of feminist on discourse is how certain text biased the position of women as the
subject. In simpler words, Mill’s concern is about how women are portrayed in mass media. The
focus is about sexism in the society. Therefore, in order to reveal the portrayal by the mass
media, Mills’ critical discourse analysis focuses on two points: subject-object position and reader
position. Moreover, by identifying those two points, the researchers are able to figure out the
construction ideology of the author in portraying women. However, Mill’s theory can be used in
other aspects besides feminist perspective as well. Therefore, the point in Mill’s theory in wider
concept is about how certain people being portrayed in mass media. Because in fact, mass media
is made up.

Subject-Object Position

In Mills’ theory, representation is really significant. Mill’s analysis concerns on how certain side,
group, person, idea or event is represented in certain strategy that influences the way public take
the meaning of the discourse (Eriyanto, 2001 as cited in Anjarwati 2009). Unlike other CDA’s
theories which concerns organization of words, sentences, and languages, Mill’s theory concerns
 Short Semester Discourse Analysis

more about the position of certain people presented in the text. According to Anjarwati (2009),
mass media is not neutral but it tends to represent a certain actor as a subject which defines an
event or a group. In other words, group of people that have power and certain ideology will
represent an event, another group, another people into certain form of discourse structure (Mills,
1992). Therefore, since mass media have the kind of power, it is assumed that mass media are
used for personal interests. Thus, a group of people who have those kinds of power will put
themselves as the subject. In general, every social actor has the possibility to be the subject of
herself/himself and to represent the world in her/his own opinion (Anjarwati, 2009). However,
the fact is that not every people are able to put their position as the subjects. As the result, the
social actors who have no opportunity to represent themselves as subject will become the object.
Therefore, the groups that are not able to represent themselves in a text will be represented by
other group (Mills, 1992). The analysis could see how the constructions of ideology are
presented in the text.

Reader Position

Mills believes that text is a contribution result of discussion between sender and reader
(Eriyanto, 2001 as cited in Anjarwati, 2009). The reader is addressed by the text, affected, and
can make impact on the interpretation. Readers are active participants who discuss the meaning
in certain text. The point of reader position is about indirect addresses. There are two factors that
affect indirect addresses: mediation and cultural code. Firstly, according to Colin McCabe in his
work on realism as cited in Mills (1992) states that in realist texts there is dominant voice
mediates all of the other voices within the text, thus the dominant voice gives instructions to the
reader about the position she should take on other information or characters within the text.
Certain text has levels of reality that will make the readers identify what position that they will
take to represent them. Secondly, Mills applied Barthes notion of cultural code. The cultural
code is seems to be a code ethic that belongs to certain culture in the society. When a statement
is true within that culture the reader will nod her head and simply accept the statement as self-
evidently (Mills, 1992 as cited in Anjarwati 2009).
 Short Semester Discourse Analysis

Critical Discourse
Analysis

Sara Mill’s CDA

Theory

Subject-Object
Position Reader Position

METHODS

Since the data were analyzed descriptively not by numbers so that the use of descriptive
qualitative method is important in conducting the research. Qualitative research means entailing
in order to collect primarily textual data and examine it using interpretive analysis (Crocker,
2009). Thus, it means that the method provides description about the issue of the research.
Moreover, the research is a library research. According to Kardiansyah (2017), library research is
a research which data source is in the form of text. Thus, it means that the method provides a
detail description about the related issue of the research. The data source is taken from article on
international news media from Germany namely The Local. The article entitled: German
Football Association Rejects Özil’s Racism Claims. The article is about how German football
association takes a step in Özil’s racism claims. Several steps are needed in order to analyze the
data, the steps are:

1. Copy and paste the article from the website (credited in the reference).
2. Analyze every line and highlight the lines that seem to be words that show the position
of the reader, the subject and object of the article, and the media and put it on the table.
3. From the tables, the lines are analyzed by Sara Mills’ critical discourse analysis theory.
4. Continuing the analysis by giving description and interpretation of how Özil being
represented in the media and figure out the construction of the ideology of the media.
 Short Semester Discourse Analysis

RESULT/DISCUSSION

Sara Mills’ critical discourse analysis focuses on the subject-object position and reader position.
Therefore, in order to reveal the portrayal of certain social actor in mass media, the researchers
are required to understand the context. Thus, the research is intended to reveal the subject-object
position and reader position in The Local article about Mesut Özil’s controversial case. The
research analyzes how Özil is represented in international news media in Germany (The Local).
The Local is an international media of Germany. The Local covers news about Germany.
Therefore, what have happened to Özil and German are important to analyze because mass
media are used to be rational in responding certain issue. The chosen article is entitled German
Football Association Rejects Özil's Racism Claims. The article discusses about Özil’s affair and
how the German Football Association responds to the case.

Subject-Object Position

The article is about Grindel’s press conference about Özil’s claims. Thus, the narrator put
himself in Grindel’s position. Furthermore, the article clearly states Özil’s position. From the text
it can be seen that the subject in the article is German Football Association who give respond to
Özil’s affair and Özil become the object. Therefore, it is important to analyze how the German
mass media portraying Özil.

“A war of words has broken out as the German Football Association (DFB) rejected
claims of racism made by Mezut Özil against their president Reinhard Grindel in his resignation
letter.”

The further analysis shows that the DFB seems to not want to have “a finger in the pie” on
Özil’s affair. As the subject, the DFB put his position in which the DFB seems that they do not
care for what had happened to Özil. They make it obvious that the important thing is that
Germany, especially the DFB and the president are clear. They only want to clarify that what had
happened to Özil is not the DFB’s fault.

"We reject the notion that the DFB is associated with racism," the association said in a
statement released on Monday.” “The DFB stands for diversity, from the representatives at the
top to the boundless, day-to-day dedication of people at the base.”

Furthermore, it can be seen as well that the DFB who represent the national football team of
Germany and football fans from Germany do not apologize about the racism attack on Özil that
makes Özil quit the national team.

“The German FA said they regretted Özil's decision to quit international football, but
firmly rejected his accusations against Grindel.” “The DFB is very grateful to Mesut Özil for his
outstanding performance in the jersey of the German national teams," continued the statement.”
 Short Semester Discourse Analysis

The analysis shows that what had happened to Özil is because Özil’s own fault. Germany gives
him racist attack because Özil’s controversial photo with the president of Turkey Erdogan has
made the public angry.

"It is regrettable that Mesut Özil felt that he had not been sufficiently protected as a
target of racist slogans.” "But it was important that Mesut Özil, like Ilkay Gündogan before him,
gives answers to the photo (with Erdogan).”

From the analysis above about it can be implied how the media portraying Özil. In this case, the
article is about Grindel’s respond to Özil. The analysis shows that Özil which is being the object
is cornered. Özil got the racism attack because of his fault. The argument is supported by another
article about Özil’s affair entitled “Footballers should be coached on politics as well as the
game, expert says”. Özil is being more cornered because it seems that Özil does not know any
stuff about politics.

“Most people agree that Erdogan, from a democratic perspective, shouldn’t be

supported but at the same time we have soccer players who don’t do anything else except play
soccer 24/7," he said.”

“Thiel said: “I think from my perspective in the current case of Özil, I would say it’s
really difficult for them (footballers) to be aware of the political or public risks when saying
something political.”

Racism has become a black dot to football history, all the people agree that racism is against
human right. Unfortunately, the DFB did not take any action to defend Özil. Instead of defending
Özil as the victim of racism attack, the DFB tried to deny the claims. The DFB did not want to
take any responsibility in Özil’s affair. What is more important is that the DFB did not even
apologize. The DFB is supposed to represent German people, national team, and even football
fan as well. However, they did not think that the DFB have the responsibility. Therefore, in The
Local media article Özil is represented as the one whom causing the racism attack.

Reader Position

The analysis finds that the media try to position the reader as the part of DFB. Thus, the readers
are asked implicitly to be in the DFB side. In this case, the DFB tries to persuade the readers to
see in their landscape. The view is that what had happened to Özil is not the DFB’s fault. The
word “we” is used to represent the reader. The DFB would like to take the reader to their
perspective.

"In the DFB, we win and lose together, as a team.”

Referring to the result of both discussion, the construction of the ideology of the Local can be
seen that the German do not see that Özil need to be defended. Germany seems that they do not
find wrong when Özil was being attacked.
 Short Semester Discourse Analysis

CONCLUSION

To conclude, racism is very serious issue that have happened for over years. Racism can happen
at any aspect in the world including football. Football matches have been a medium for racist.
Özil is one of many players that have been attacked by racist. Because Özil is an immigrant,
people attack him. The problem started when Özil took a picture with Turk president. Thus, it
becomes public discussion. However, no media is neutral so that it is interesting to see how
German media (the Local) portraying Özil. Thus, the research is aimed at finding out the subject-
object position and the reader position of Özil in the Local news media article. The findings
shows that the DFB appears as the subject while Özil appears as the subject. As the object, the
representation of Özil is being cornered. The DFB do not place themselves in Özil’s side.
 Short Semester Discourse Analysis

REFERENCES

Mills, Sara. (1997). Discourse. London and New York: Routledge.

Woodhouse, John, Bess, Jap, Pepin, Sara. (2019). Racism in Sport. House of Commons Library.
London: Parliament United Kingdom

Fairclough, Norman. (1995). Critical Discourse Analysis: the Critical Study of Language. New
York: Longman Publishing

Wodak, Ruth, Meyer, Michael. (2008). Critical Discourse Analysis: History, Agenda, Theory,
and Methodology.

Van Dijk, Teun. (1995). Aims of Critical Discourse Analysis. Japanese Discourse, Vol 1 p. 17-
27

Goodseed, Ochulor Nwaugo. (2015). Ideology and Power: A Critical Discourse Analysis of
Excerpts from Peter Abraham’s Tell Freedom. Research Academy of Social Science, Vol 2, No.
1, p. 29-46

Laruccia, Mauro Maia, Martyniuk, Valdenise Lezier. (2016). Racism in Football: A Narrative
Path. Scientific Research Publishing, Vol 5, p. 103-112

Nuryani, Astrida, Isnaeni, Rizky. (2019). Retelling Rape: Sara Mills’ Critical Discourse Analysis
on Rakyatku News’ Article about the Rape of Agni. Brawijaya University

Nabila. (2016). Sara Mill’s Critical Discourse Analysis on Two News Article about Sahar Gul.
Thesis (Unpublished). Jakarta: UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakara

Reynolds, Kim M. (2019). A Critical Discourse Analysis of Mainstream Media Coverage of

Colin Kaepernick and Take a Knee. Thesis (Unpublished). London: London School of
Economics and Political Science

Anjarwati, Eny (2009). Audience’s Response on Polygamy Issue in Ayat-ayat Cinta Tthe movie:
A Critical Discourse Analysis Approach of Sara Mills. Thesis (Unpublished). Surabaya:
Universitas Airlangga
 Short Semester Discourse Analysis

APPENDIX

Appendix A

German Football Association Rejects Özil's Racism Claims

A war of words has broken out as the German Football Association (DFB) rejected claims
of racism made by Mezut Özil against their president Reinhard Grindel in his resignation letter.
"We reject the notion that the DFB is associated with racism," the association said in a statement
released on Monday. "The DFB stands for diversity, from the representatives at the top to the
boundless, day-to-day dedication of people at the base." Özil announced his retirement from
international duty in a statement on Sunday, which accused Grindel of racism, when he broke his
silence over his controversial meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May. "In
the eyes of Grindel and his supporters, I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when
we lose," wrote Özil, who assisted the German team in its 2014 World Cup victory, and who
accused Grindel of failing to side with him against his critics. The German FA said they
regretted Özil's decision to quit international football, but firmly rejected his accusations against
Grindel. "The DFB is very grateful to Mesut Özil for his outstanding performance in the jersey
of the German national teams," continued the statement. "It is regrettable that Mesut Özil felt that
he had not been sufficiently protected as a target of racist slogans. “But it was important that
Mesut Özil, like Ilkay Gündogan before him, gives answers to the photo (with Erdogan). "In the
DFB, we win and lose together, as a team. “The DFB would have been happy if Mesut Özil had
wanted to remain part of the team on this shared basis. He decided otherwise."

Appendix B

Footballers Should Be Coached on Politics As Well As the Game, Expert Says

Learning both sport and political tactics is important following Mesut Özil's resignation
from the German side on Monday, according to a prominent sports scientist. Professor Ansgar
Thiel, Director of the Institute of Sports Science at the University of Tübingen, told The Local
the footballing world should be “reflective” and thinks about “what went wrong” in the wake of
Özil's statement on Sunday. The 29-year-old sports star announced his retirement from
international football, citing "racism and disrespect" within German football. The DFB (German
Football Association) rejected the claims. Thiel told The Local on Monday that sport stars should
receive training on how to deal with political matters outside of football. The DFB (German
 Short Semester Discourse Analysis

Football Association) rejected the claims. Thiel told The Local on Monday that sport stars should
receive training on how to deal with political matters outside of football. “Most people agree that
Erdogan, from a democratic perspective, shouldn’t be supported but at the same time we have
soccer players who don’t do anything else except play soccer 24/7," he said. “The DFB will have
to think about how they coach their players not only in sporting aspects when talking to the
media, but in regards to political aspects. I think that’s one of the most important things.”