Whelan should be given red card for racism
Wigan's chairman and ex-boss Mackay have used highly derogatory terms
Dave and Malky are a right pair of Charlies. This statement is not offensive, whereas these two individuals have been offensive by insisting it is acceptable to call Chinese "Chinks" and to say Jews "chase money".
However, being offensive these days is no longer absolutely black and white with the zeitgeist in many different societies continually changing and at very different rates. What is fascinating is the wide spectrum of views from everybody who has an opinion.
Whenever this column mentions the scourge of racism - such as towards Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos or Asians in general - there are always a few Western voices responding angrily by criticising the apparently reciprocal use of the term gweilo.
Being clumsy and old fashioned is one excuse used to explain the racist words used by Dave Whelan, the 77-year-old chairman and owner of Wigan Athletic
Sadly, these people's perspective has not changed with the times. The changing zeitgeist has generally made gweilo no longer derogatory and in fact has become a colloquial term of endearment whereas calling someone a Chink or a Nip remains highly offensive and racist.
Similarly, it used to be acceptable to use the term oriental, coloured and even mulatto. In these enlightened times, only old-fashioned, ignorant and uneducated people would use these words in everyday language. Society defines such people as being racist.
Being clumsy and old fashioned is one excuse used to explain the racist words used by Dave Whelan, the 77-year-old chairman and owner of Wigan Athletic. Whelan said it was "nothing" to call a "Chinaman" a "Chink" and that any Englishman who said he had not done so was lying.
Hull boss Steve Bruce, who has previously worked under Whelan, said: "There's no racism in him at all. Sometimes words can be said which can be misplaced, they can be out there in the public domain, but certainly when I've worked with him there's been no sign of racism."
Loyalty is another reason why others have come out in support of Whelan.
Everton manager Roberto Martinez, who has a long service record working with Whelan, defended his former employer saying: "You need to look behind the situation at the person. You have a chairman who just wants to support his new manager.
"He is a special person, who has never had a problem with the way he has helped communities, and as a football man the record is there for everyone to check, so it's sad when in many walks of life you take things out of context."
Being loyal, and hence taking a biased stance, is a common hallmark in soccer, although it is notable that no one else except Whelan has said anything in support of Malky Mackay, over the racist remarks made when he was manager at Cardiff City. Whelan's loyalty to his new manager is apparently what has got him in trouble.
This tells us what we already instinctively know. First, the discriminatory terms used by Whelan and Mackay are indeed highly offensive. Second, loyalty can distort and even blind people to the real facts of the matter. Why do Bruce and Martinez passionately defend Whelan, but fail to do likewise for Mackay? What is the difference between Whelan and Mackay? Last season, after the fallout from Luis Suarez's racist remarks to Manchester United's then captain Patrice Evra, Liverpool issued staff with a list of "unacceptable" words and phrases to combat all forms of discrimination at Anfield.
This list includes racist terms like Chink, Nip and Wog; gender and homosexual words like princess, man up, lady-boy, fag and fairy; and disability labels spaz, midget and retard.
It is likely Wigan does not have such a list, so perhaps the FA should publish something for all clubs, so the Whelans, Mackays and other racists in the world of soccer can keep up with the zeitgeist.
