Racism in association football
Encyclopedia
Racism
in association football is the abuse of players, officials and fans because of their skin colour, nationality, religion or ethnicity. Some may be targeted (also) because of their association with an opposing team. However, there have been instances of individuals being targeted by their own fans.
In November 2011, FIFA
president Sepp Blatter
stated, "Racism is if there are spectators or, outside the field of play, there are movements to discrimination, but, on the field of play, I deny that there is racism." Blatter was widely criticized for appearing to minimize the prevalence of racism within the sport, especially from media in England, where a racial incident had recently been alleged on the field of play.
, was subject to racist abuse due to his India
n heritage while running for the Presidency of the Football Association of Zambia
.
, an Israeli footballer, was booed by Malaysian fans during the match. This is attributed to the strong anti-semitism
sentiment in the Muslim majority country
clubs have been formed based on ethnic and racial associations and thus there have been instances of people of other groups not getting fair opportunities in football employment. New regulations in 2005 forbade such racial associations.
At a 1994 match in Melbourne between the Croatian
community supported Melbourne Knights
and the Greek
community supported South Melbourne
, many ethnic slurs were exchanged between the two sets of supporters.
, an American
of Nigerian descent
, has been punched and shouted at by racist fans while playing for Standard Liège
. He's also had incidents with other players, such as Jelle Van Damme
, who, according to Onyewu, repeatedly called him a "dirty ape" during the 2008–09 Championship playoff, even after Onyewu relayed the information to the referees. Van Damme denied the accusations following the match, and claimed that Onyewu had called him a "dirty Flemish". Approximately two weeks later, on June 2, 2009, it was announced by Onyewu's lawyer that he was suing Van Damme in an effort to end on-field racism in European football.
Zola Matumona
left FC Brussels after he accused club chairman Johan Vermeersch of making racist remarks towards him during a crisis meeting at the struggling club. He is reported to have told Matumona to "think about other things than trees and bananas."
, Paris Saint-Germain's players wore all-white jerseys and the opposing RC Lens
players wore all-black during a French league match. The move backfired as racist elements among PSG's crowd in the Kop of Boulogne sing "Come on the whites." The racist overtone was backed up with monkey chants from the Boulogne crowd when Lens players touch the ball.
On 18 April 2007, Lyon
player Milan Baroš
was accused of racially abusing Rennes'
Stéphane M'Bia by implying that M'Bia smelt. On 4 May 2007 Baroš was found guilty of the gesture, but found not guilty of racism, and was banned for three league matches.
On 17 September 2007, Libourne's
Burkinabe
player Boubacar Kébé
was abused by fans of Bastia
; he was red-carded for retaliating. In February 2008, Bastia was again at the centre of controversy when their fans unfurled a racist banner, again aimed at Kébé, which delayed the kick-off of the match by three minutes.
On 17 February 2008, Abdeslam Ouaddou
of Valenciennes
was racially abused by a fan from opponents Metz
; Metz and the French league
announced that they would be suing the fan in question. The match referee did not see the incident, and so booked Ouaddou for challenging the fan. Valenciennes chairman Francis Decourrière later demanded that the match be replayed, "in front of children from Valenciennes and Metz." Following this incident, the French Football Federation
made steps to introduce harsher punishments.
In March 2008, Bastia's Frédéric Mendy
claimed he had been racially abused by Grenoble's
fans.
groups in Germany had begun to use football matches as occasions to plan and organise attacks against local ethnic communities and East European, particularly Turkish, refugees.
In 1994, Borussia Dortmund
star Júlio César
threatened to leave the club after he was refused admission to a local nightclub because of his black complexion.
FC St. Pauli
fans responded decisively to outbreaks of racism in the German game. With the slogan, Gegen rechts ('Against the Right'), a combination of fans and students took to the club's terraces in 1992 to stand up against politically motivated racism.
In December 1992, all the teams in the German League followed the St Pauli lead and, over one weekend, all players played in shirts displaying the slogan Mein Freund ist Ausländer ('My friend is a Foreigner'). The German Sports Youth's 1995 "No Chance for Hatred" campaign has promoted activities against racism and xenophobia on a national scale, encouraging local clubs to participate. Unfortunately, this campaign has not spurred German football authorities into further action.
Merkel (1996) reports that they vehemently refuse to acknowledge that racism is a major problem, and dismiss racist abuses as isolated incidents which have nothing to do with the sport. Most of their measures are concerned with law and order - cutting down violence at matches - but anti-racist action is very sparse. Anti-racist initiatives are designed to create positive publicity but generally consist of little more than token gestures, such as rock concerts and short term advertising campaigns.
Racism in German football is much more subtle than in other parts of Europe; monkey chants have been replaced with codes, such as the number 88, which stands for 'HH' or 'Heil Hitler' ('H' is the eighth letter of the alphabet in German and English). Some teams, for example Hannover 96
, have banned such symbols from their stadiums.
On 25 March 2006, in a match between FC Sachsen Leipzig
and Hallescher FC
, Leipzig's Nigerian midfielder Adebowale Ogungbure
was spat at and called 'Nigger
' and 'ape' by opposition fans, who later aimed monkey noises at him. In retaliation he placed two fingers above his mouth and saluted at the crowd - a reference to Adolf Hitler
. Ogungbure was arrested by German police, as it is illegal to make Nazi gestures for political or abusive purposes, but criminal proceedings were dropped 24 hours later.
In April 2006, in a match between St. Pauli and Chemnitzer FC
, visiting Chemnitz fans stormed Turkish-owned stores chanting "Sieg Heil" and waving imitation Nazi flags. Some shouted: "We're going to build a subway from St Pauli to Auschwitz
".
Ghana-born German international striker Gerald Asamoah
has frequently been the target of racist abuse. On 10 September 2006 Hansa Rostock were investigated for racist abuse in a friendly game and were subsequently found guilty; the team was fined $25,000.
On 19 August 2007 it was announced that Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller
would be investigated by the German Football Association
(DFB) after apparently calling Asamoah a 'black pig'.
On 4 February 2007 a racist German football fan was apprehended by fellow fans during a match between Energie Cottbus
and VfL Bochum
, and faces a lifetime ban.
Racist chants in Cottbus
are said to be commonplace.
Torsten Ziegner
was given a five-match ban in October 2008 for racially abusing Nigerian player Kingsley Onuegbu
during a match against Eintracht Braunschweig
.
, playing for Israel's Maccabi Haifa
in 1989, was subjected to anti-Semitic taunts.
Black footballers playing in the Serie A
top flight in 1992-1993 were also racially abused. Two black Dutch
players, Ruud Gullit
and Aron Winter
, have spoken out against such racist taunts. Their complaints spurred a day of action on 13 December 1992, with the slogan No al razzimo! (No To Racism) being paraded by all players in the two Italian divisions.
Paul Ince
also complained about open abuse during his spell with Inter Milan in Italy between 1995 & 1997.
On 27 November 2005, Marco Zoro
attempted to stop the Messina
-Inter Milan match by leaving the field with the ball, after being tormented by racist
taunts from some Inter supporters. He was eventually convinced to keep playing by other players, notably by Inter's Adriano
. These facts then brought strong and unanimous condemnations by the whole football community within Italy, and even a 5 minute delay for an anti-racism display for all the matches to be played in the next week in the country. The actions of the Inter supporters were also brought to the attention of the European football governing body UEFA
as well as that of the European Union
.
On April 2009 Internazionale's Mario Balotelli
, an Italian footballer of Ghanaian descent, was subjected to racial abuse from Juventus fans. They were handed a one game home fan ban as a result.
and Lithuania
, a racist banner was unfurled by Lithuanian supporters. Directed against France's black players, it represented a map of Africa, painted with the French flag colors (blue, white and red), with a slogan of "Welcome to Europe".
and FK Zeta
, Rangers players DaMarcus Beasley
(an African American
) and Jean-Claude Darcheville
(a black Frenchman) were subjected to racist abuse by FK Zeta players and Zeta were later fined £9,000.
i symbols to express their allegiance. Regularly, the supporters wave large Star of David
flags and scream Joden! Joden! ("Jews! Jews!") to fire up their team. Die-hard Ajax supporters call themselves "F-Siders" or "Joden" - Dutch for "Jews" - a nickname that reflects the team's and Amsterdam's Jewish roots. However, opposing supporters are known to use anti-Semitic remarks to express their antipathy towards Ajax. This is expressed in slogans such as Hamas, hamas, joden aan het gas (Hamas
, Hamas, Jews into the gas
) or producing hissing sounds that imitate the flow of gas.
This however, does not withhold the 'Jewish' supporters from celebrating the Bombing of Rotterdam by Nazi Germany
when facing Feyenoord
with songs like Rotterdam, kankerstad, in de oorlog lag je lekker plat (Rotterdam, cancer town, in the war they rightly bombed it down!). Songs like this (using the melody of "Tulips from Amsterdam") were sung from the stage, i.e. organised, at the celebration of the winning of the Dutch Cup
in 2006.
The hardcore Ajax fans, however, are proud of their outsider image as "Jews" and feel encouraged to show more Israeli/Jewish signs. Jews who support Ajax are split on this matter. Dutch authorities have tried to tone down the Jewish symbols of support for Ajax, hoping to lead to a decrease of anti-Semitic counter-incidents. However, the head of the European Board of Jewish Deputies has signalled his support for the F-siders, noting that anti-Semitism in Europe would be lessened if more non-Jews identified with Jewish culture.
As The Netherlands harboured Jews from Nazi Germany before being overrun in World War II
, this carries over to matches involving the national team
.
In a 1991 interview, SC Heerenveen manager Fritz Korbach
racially abused black players Bryan Roy
("een kleine rotneger", "a short fucking nigger") and Romário
("die koffieboon van PSV", "that coffee bean
of PSV"). During Euro 96, black player Edgar Davids
was sent home after publicly alleging discrimination within the team's organisation.
was severely abused in his debut match for Kongsvinger IL
. The abuse halted and nearly broke his career, but he returned to Kongsvinger's senior team after a two years, and enjoyed a long career.
Several other players have experienced racism, often while playing national or club matches abroad. These players include Daniel Braaten
and Pa Modou Kah
.
Top-tier club Vålerenga Fotball famously played their with the slogan "Vålerenga Against Racism" instead of a shirt sponsor in the 1997 season. An official campaign, initiated by the footballers' trade union, is called "Give Racism the Red Card".
During the Extraordinary Congress of the International Football Federation (FIFA), held in Buenos Aires on 6–7 July 2001, the problem of racism in Polish football was discussed and Polish national football association was called to join the struggle against racism. The problem of antisemitism in Polish football has drawn international criticism. Poland was named as one of the worst offenders, in British MP John Mann
report, which describes anti-Semitic incidents in 18 countries across Europe. It was noted that Polish fans routinely call
each other 'Jews' as a term of abuse. In April 2008 ŁKS Łódź player Arkadiusz Mysona
wore a shirt which said "Śmierć żydzewskiej kurwie" ("Death to Widzew
-Jewish Whore", which is a word play, used by the LKS Lodz supporters, who call fans of their local rivals Jews) after a match in the Polish Ekstraklasa. Mysona said afterwards that the shirt was given to him by a fan and he hadn´t checked it.
Supporters of the football club Cracovia from Kraków
often refer to themselves as "Jews" in a positive manner, much in the same way as fans of AFC Ajax in the Netherlands. In a manner similar to Ajax, the self-identification is related to the team's history. Quite a few of the founders of both clubs from Lodz
were Polish Jews.
player André Bikey
suffered racism while playing for Lokomotiv
in Moscow
.
As Zenit kicked off their 2006/07 Russian Premier League campaign against visitors Saturn, Brazilian footballer Antonio Geder was received with a chorus of monkey chants at Petrovsky Stadium.
In March 2008, black players of French side Marseille
- including André Ayew
, Ronald Zubar
and Charles Kaboré
- were targeted by fans of Zenit Saint Petersburg
; Zenit fans were later warned by police in Manchester not to repeat their behaviour ahead of the 2008 UEFA Cup Final
. Later Zenit's coach Dick Advocaat
revealed the club's supporters were racist. When they attempted to sign Mathieu Valbuena
, a Frenchman, many fans asked "Is he a negro
?" Also Serge Branco
, who played for Krylya Sovetov
, accused Zenit's staff of racism. "Each time I play in St Petersburg I have to listen to racist insults from the stands. Zenit bosses do not do anything about it which makes me think they are racists too."
On 20 August 2010, Odemwingie joined Premier League team West Bromwich Albion for an undisclosed fee. He signed a 3 year contract and was granted the number 24 shirt. Shortly after signing for West Brom, photographs showed Lokomotiv Moscow fans celebrating the sale of Odemwingie through the use of racist banners targeted at the player. One banner included the image of a banana and read "Thanks West Brom" (10)
On 12 February 2011, Roberto Carlos signed a contract with Russian Premier League club Anzhi Makhachkala
. In March, during a game away at Zenit Saint Petersburg
, a banana
was held near Carlos by one of the fans as the footballer was taking part in a flag-raising ceremony. In June, in a match away at Krylia Sovetov Samara, Roberto Carlos received a pass from the goalkeeper and was about to pass it when a banana was thrown on to the pitch, landing nearby. The 38-year-old Brazilian picked it up and threw it by the sidelines, walking off the field before the final whistle and raising two fingers at the stands, indicating this was the second such incident since March.
during a first division match. Several days later, 152 supporters of first division side Rad Belgrade were detained after shouting anti-Muslim slogans during a match against their Novi Pazar rivals. Borac Cacak was at the centre of more controversy in March 2008 when a Ghanaian player, Solomon Opoku, was attacked by fans; six fans were later arrested, with four being later charged.
On 29 November 2006, Hajduk Kula coach Nebojsa Vucicevic
racially insulted Red Star Belgrade
's Senegal
defender Ibrahima Gueye
.
An unnamed Serbia U-21 player
was accused of racially abusing Justin Hoyte
, while Serbian fans also apparently racially abused Nedum Onuoha
.
Following racist abuse from FK Zeta
fans, DaMarcus Beasley
recalled previous instances of racism in Serbia, from fans of Red Star Belgrade
. However, Red Star has been defended by some of its black players, such as Segundo Castillo
and Franklin Salas
, with Castillo saying that "Red Star fans are not racist".
displayed a banner which contained the words 'Alles Gute Adi' and a smiley-head face of Adolf Hitler
during a match against FC Senec
; racist chants were also heard. Just three days later, on 7 April 2007, Slovan Bratislava fans were responsible for directing monkey chants at Artmedia's Karim Guede
.
's Dalian Atkinson
returned from Spain after one season with Real Sociedad
, unhappy with the reception he received, and identifying racial abuse as a major factor in his rapid departure from the Spanish club.
Felix Dja Ettien suffered racial abuse when he first signed for Levante
; he was ignored by the coach due to his inability to speak Spanish, and whenever he fell ill he was accused of having malaria
or AIDS
.
During a training session in 2004, a Spanish TV crew filmed Spanish national team
head coach Luis Aragonés
trying to motivate José Antonio Reyes
by making offensive and racist references to Reyes' then teammate at Arsenal
, Thierry Henry
. The phrase used was "Demuestra que eres mejor que ese negro de mierda", translated as "Show that you're better than that black shit". The incident caused uproar in the British
media with calls for Aragonés to be sacked. However these opinions were not widely supported in Spain
, with the national football federation declining to take any action, and politicians being slow to denounce the remarks. When Spain
played England
in a friendly match at the Bernabéu
soon after, on 17 November 2004, the atmosphere was hostile. Whenever black England players touched the ball, a significant proportion of the Spanish crowd began to make monkey chants, in particular to Shaun Wright-Phillips
and Ashley Cole
. And when England sang their national anthem before kick off, Spanish fans also racially chanted against English players. Aragonés' remarks were widely blamed by the British press for inciting the incident. After an investigation into the events during the match, UEFA
fined the RFEF 100,000 CHF/ 87,000 USD
and warned that any future incidents would be punished more severely. The incident even drew reactions from then-Prime Minister Tony Blair
and Sports Minister Richard Caborn
., with Caborn making the claim that the behaviour of Spanish fans was twenty or thirty years behind that their British counterparts. UEFA
noted that possible punishments could include suspension from major international tournaments or the closure of Spain
home international matches to supporters. On 7 February 2007 Aragonés won an appeal over the offence, with the misdemeanour being downgraded to "conduct which could be considered to be racist".
In February 2005, Samuel Eto'o
suffered from racially-driven verbal abuse by some Real Zaragoza
spectators during a match for FC Barcelona
. The fans began making monkey-like chants whenever Eto'o had possession of the ball and peanuts were hurled onto the pitch. Eto'o threatened to leave the pitch in the middle of the game, but was prevented by the intervention of his team-mates and the referee, who rushed to the pitch to calm him down. His teammate Ronaldinho
, who has suffered similar abuses but less intensely, said he was fed up with the sounds and that if Eto'o had left the pitch, he would have done the same. As Barcelona won 4-1, Eto'o danced like a monkey, saying rival fans were treating him as a monkey. Referee Fernando Carmona Mendez did not mention the incidents in his match report, commenting only that the behaviour of the crowd was "normal". The fans were identified to police by fellow spectators and they were fined and banned from attending sporting events for five months. Eto'o declared in the aftermath that the punishment was insufficient and that La Romareda
, Real Zaragoza's stadium, should have been closed for at least one year. However, Eto'o's coach, Frank Rijkaard
, told him to concentrate on football and to stop talking about the incident. Eto'o has stated that he does not take his children to football matches, due the prevalent racism and has also suggested that players walk off if they become victims of racism.
Many other African footballers have also been victims of racial abuse, such as Cameroon's
Idriss Carlos Kameni
, who was abused while playing for Espanyol
against Atlético Madrid, who were fined €6000.
In January 2009, the Royal Spanish Football Federation fined Real Madrid
about $3,900 after a group of fans made fascist gestures and chanted fascist slogans at a match. Match referee Alfonso Perez Burrull cited "extremist or radical symbolism," and chanted making reference to "the gas chamber."¨
attacked supporters of rivals Malmö FF
by referring to them as "Rosengårdstattare" ("Rosengård
gypsies"), in a racist reference to the large immigrant population of Malmö
. Also, fans of Helsingborgs IF
have been known to yell monkey chants at opposing dark-skinned players.
(CRE), the Football Supporters Association (FSA) and the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) have all launched initiatives in a bid to encourage more people from ethnic minorities to attend matches.
Arthur Wharton
, born in Gold Coast
, was the world's first Black professional footballer, and played as a goalkeeper for Darlington
, although he was outdated by Andrew Watson, who was a Scottish amateur footballer. Other early non-white footballers include Walter Tull
and Hong Y Soo.
The dark-skinned Everton F.C.
center-forward, Dixie Dean
, recalled how racist comments were aimed at him as he left the pitch at half time during a match in London in the 1930s. Dean, reportedly, punched the offender himself before disappearing into the players' tunnel. The authorities took no action against Dean, and a nearby police officer was alleged to have informed the victim that he had "deserved" his punishment.
Steve Mokone
, a black South African who later played for FC Barcelona
, left Coventry City
after his manager said to him "We brought you over here and you are not satisfied. That's the trouble with you people"; Mokone interpreted this as being racist, and he swiftly signed for Heracles Almelo
.
The player Roger Verdi
, who is of Indian origin, changed his name from Rajinder Singh Birdi due to racism.
In the 1970s, future England full-back Viv Anderson
endured racist abuse as an 18 year old playing for Nottingham Forest against Newcastle, and was pelted with apples and pears from Carlisle supporters while warming up for Nottingham Forest as a substitute. When he retreated back to the bench to inform manager Brian Clough
of the abuse he was told to go back out and fetch him 'two pears and a banana'.
In the 1980s, racism in football in England was rampant. Paul Canoville
was abused by his own fans when he warmed up for Chelsea before making his début. Garth Crooks
was regularly subject to racist chants and banners from opposing fans during his time at Spurs. Cyrille Regis
endured monkey chants from Newcastle fans on his away début for West Bromwich Albion and was later sent a bullet in the post following his call up to the England squad. In 1987 John Barnes was pictured back-heeling a banana off the pitch during a match for Liverpool against Everton, whose fans chanted 'Everton are white'.
On 21 April 2004, Ron Atkinson
resigned from ITV after he was caught making a racist
remark live on air about the black Chelsea F.C.
player Marcel Desailly
: believing the microphone to be switched off, he said, "...he [Desailly] is what is known in some schools as a fucking lazy thick nigger". Although transmission in the UK had finished, the microphone gaffe
meant that his comment was broadcast to various countries in the Middle East
. He also left his job as a columnist for The Guardian
"by mutual agreement" as a result of the comment.
On 13 January 2007, The FA
charged Newcastle
player Emre Belözoğlu
with "using racially-aggravated abusive and/or insulting words", referring to an incident during the 3-0 defeat by Everton
at Goodison Park
on 30 December 2006. Emre was, on 16 February 2007, accused of more racist behaviour, this time against Bolton's
El Hadji Diouf
. However, on 1 March 2007, it was revealed that Diouf would not be pursuing his claim. It was also later revealed that Watford
player Al Bangura had released a statement declaring that he was the victim of racist abuse from Emre. On 19 March he was cleared of the charges relating to the Everton game.
On 6 March 2007 it was announced that the Metropolitan Police
were investigating apparent anti-Semitic chants by West Ham
fans before the match with Spurs
two days previously after a video of the offence surfaced on the internet.
On 7 April 2007, in a match between Rotherham
and Gillingham
, Gillingham keeper Kelvin Jack
was racially abused by a Rotherham fan. On 13 April 2007, the fan was banned for life from the club.
Following his appointment as manager in September 2007, Israeli Avram Grant has been the subject of anti-Semitic taunts from some Chelsea
fans; Grant's father was a Polish survivor of the German Nazi Holocaust
; Grant has also received death threats and anti-Semitic post.
In November 2008, Middlesbrough's Egypt
ian forward Mido was subjected to Islamophobic chanting from a small number of Newcastle United fans. Mido had been subjected to similar chants the previous year, again from Newcastle fans.
Player John Barnes
was targeted by his own team's fans.
During a League Cup
match between Blackpool
and Stoke City
at the Britannia Stadium
on 22 September 2009, Blackpool player Jason Euell
, who at the time was sat on the substitutes bench was racially abused by a Stoke fan, who was ejected from the stadium and subsequently arrested by Staffordshire Police
, before being released pending inquiries. Euell confronted the supporter that was taunting him. Blackpool manager Ian Holloway
, who had to restrain Euell, was furious in his post-match interview, saying:
Euell, who received an official apology from Stoke City, later said:
In the wake of the incident, Tottenham Hotspur
manager Harry Redknapp
called for fans who racially abuse players to be imprisoned: "That is disgusting – there's no place for that in the game. Surely we can't have that sort of behaviour now? Anyone who does it should be put in prison – not banned from football. Stick them where they belong, in the nut-house. It's wrong."
In April 2011, an initiative was launched by comedian David Baddiel
to tackle anti-semitism in the sport, which was backed by players including Frank Lampard
, Ledley King
and Kieran Gibbs
.
. Watson never turned professional, however, so Arthur Wharton
is sometimes reported as being the first black British footballer.
The book Race, Sport and British Society says there was racist abuse of Celtic
player Paul Wilson
by Rangers
fans in the 1970s: "Rangers fans repeatedly bayed 'Wilson's a Paki
' when Celtic played Rangers". There have been reports that some Rangers
fans used to sing "I'd rather be a darkie than a Tim". The book Sport and National Identity In the Post-War World says "black players in Scotland were greeted with bananas thrown from the crowd and a barrage of 'monkey grunts', notably Mark Walters
of Rangers and Paul Elliott of Celtic." On 2 January 1988, Rangers winger Mark Walters made his debut in the Old Firm
derby match at Celtic Park
. Rangers lost 2–0 and Walters was subjected to racist abuse from opposing Celtic fans who were caught on camera chanting like monkeys, throwing fruit, (mostly bananas) onto the pitch and dressing in monkey costumes. It was reported that Rangers fans used "implicit racism" on the same day by singing "I'd rather be a darkie than a Tim (Celtic Fan)". Although Celtic slammed the perpetrators, the Scottish Football Association
remained silent. According to Walters, he experienced even worse racial abuse in Edinburgh against Hearts
. Following racist abuse aimed at Walters, Rangers banned some of their own season ticket holders. Andrew Smith from The Scotsman
newspaper stated: "It is depressing to think that enforcement as much as enlightenment might account for Walters being the only black footballer in this country to have had bananas thrown at them."
Rangers captain Lorenzo Amoruso
issued a public apology after a match in December 1999 for making racist comments against Borussia Dortmund
's Nigeria
n striker Victor Ikpeba
. In March 2003, Rangers fans were accused of racially abusing Bobo Balde
and Momo Sylla. Rangers chairman John McClelland stated that ""There was such a crescendo during Saturday's match although I thought I heard noises of this kind I can't be 100% sure." In May 2004, Marvin Andrews
condemned racism from some Rangers fans.
In November 2004, then manager of Celtic
Martin O'Neill suggested Neil Lennon was the subject of chants of a "racial and sectarian manner".
During a 2007 Scottish Cup tie, St. Johnstone player Jason Scotland
was the target of racist taunts by a handful of Motherwell
fans. The offenders were promptly reprimanded by the spectators around them and were reported to police and match stewards. Motherwell chairman John Boyle
later issued an apology on behalf of the club. Motherwell were to court further controversy on 3 September 2007 when Laryea Kingston
of Hearts was abused, although Motherwell refuted the claims.
In October 2009, Rangers player Maurice Edu
said he was racially abused by some Rangers fans while leaving Ibrox
after a UEFA Champions League
defeat by Unirea Urziceni. Edu wrote on Twitter: "Not sure what hurt more: result or being racially abused by couple of our own fans as I'm getting in my car."
Three Scottish judges ruled in June 2009 that The Famine song
is racist because it targets people of Irish origin. George Peat, President of the Scottish Football Association
, has suggested that the song causes embarrassment for Scottish football and should be stamped out. Peat has also stated that the SFA is determined to contribute to the eradication of offensive songs from Scottish football. In November 2008, a Rangers fan was found guilty of a breach of the peace (aggravated by religious and racial prejudice) for singing The Famine Song during a game against Kilmarnock
. It was widely reported after an Old Firm
game in February 2009 that Rangers fans had sung The Famine Song at Celtic Park
. The Famine Song was also sung in March 2011 at a Scottish football game by Rangers fans, nevertheless, Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill described the match as a "great advert for Scottish football."
The Herald journalist Doug Gillon has written that "the sectarian intolerance which divides Scottish society [...] is rooted in anti-Irish racism."
In February 2011, in an Old Firm
match at Celtic Park
a Celtic
supporter was caught mocking black Rangers
player El Hadji Diouf
with monkey noises and gestures as he was about to take a corner kick.
In April 2011, the Manager of Celtic
Neil Lennon received an explosive device in the post. Brian McNally described this as due to "anti-Catholic and anti-Irish racism". A number of high profile Celtic fans also were sent suspected explosive devices. Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party Annabel Goldie MSP described bullets sent to Neil Lennon and a number of Celtic players as “racism and sectarianism”. After an attempted assault on Neil Lennon at Hearts stadium Tynecastle, a motion against anti-Irish racism was lodged in the Scottish Parliament.
, among most racist fans are supporters of Beitar Jerusalem, also Hapoel Tel Aviv fans have been using slogans promoting a Holocaust against Maccabi Tel Aviv. Israeli right wing football supporters taunt Arab players during games, especially those who play for the mixed Arab-Jewish team Bnei Sakhnin.
Under Israeli law, football fans can be prosecuted for incitement of racial hatred. The "New Voices from the Stadium" program, run by the New Israel Fund
(NIF) amasses a "racism index" that is reported to the media on a weekly basis, and teams have been fined and punished for the conduct of their fans. According to Steve Rothman
, the NIF San Francisco director, "Things have definitely improved, particularly in sensitizing people to the existence of racism in Israeli society." In 2006, Israel joined Football Against Racism in Europe
(FARE), a network set up to counter racism in football.
made guttural sounds imitating a chimpanzee against the Panama
nian player Felipe Baloy
of Monterrey as he scored a goal. During the game, Santos Laguna's fans had also chanted other racial slurs towards Baloy, including chango (monkey) and come platano (banana eater). The disciplinary commission of the Mexican Football Federation sanctioned the Santos club to a sum equivalent of 5,600 days of league minimum wage for the racist insults.
game between the Columbus Crew
and the New England Revolution
, Revolution forward Kheli Dube (originally from Zimbabwe) scored a goal against the Crew in the 89th minute of the game. An unidentified fan in the audience shouted out a racial slur. The incident was subsequently posted to the video sharing website YouTube
, and MLS promised an investigation. In response to the epithet Revolution player Shalrie Joseph reportedly made an obscene gesture towards the offending fan. Assuming that MLS could have identified the fan, commisoner Don Garber
promised to ban him.
player Leandro Desabato
was arrested for racially abusing Grafite
, a black Brazilian player. He was held for 40 hours, and no charges were brought against the player after Grafite
decided not to press charges.
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
in association football is the abuse of players, officials and fans because of their skin colour, nationality, religion or ethnicity. Some may be targeted (also) because of their association with an opposing team. However, there have been instances of individuals being targeted by their own fans.
In November 2011, FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
president Sepp Blatter
Sepp Blatter
Joseph S. Blatter , commonly known as Sepp Blatter, is a Swiss football administrator, who serves as the 8th and current President of FIFA . He was elected on 8 June 1998, succeeding João Havelange. He was re-elected as President in 2002, 2007, and 2011...
stated, "Racism is if there are spectators or, outside the field of play, there are movements to discrimination, but, on the field of play, I deny that there is racism." Blatter was widely criticized for appearing to minimize the prevalence of racism within the sport, especially from media in England, where a racial incident had recently been alleged on the field of play.
Zambia
Hanif Adams, the owner of Lusaka DynamosLusaka Dynamos F.C.
Lusaka Dynamos Football Club is a Zambian football club based in Lusaka.They play in the top division in Zambian football. It is renowned for its ability to nurture upcoming footballers into full-fledged players. The club is owned by Hanif Adams, a businessman and experienced administrator. At the...
, was subject to racist abuse due to his India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n heritage while running for the Presidency of the Football Association of Zambia
Football Association of Zambia
The Football Association of Zambia is the governing body of football in Zambia. It was founded in 1929, and affiliated to FIFA in 1964. It is also a member of the Confederation of African Football. It organizes the national football league and the national team.- External links :* * at the FIFA...
.
Asia
In Chelsea 1-0 win against the Malaysian national soccer team, Yossi BenayounYossi Benayoun
Yosef Shai "Yossi" Benayoun is an Israeli international footballer who plays for Arsenal on loan from Chelsea.Benayoun plays as an attacking midfielder, often occupying the space just behind the striker. In Israel, he is sometimes nicknamed "The Diamond from Dimona". He is also the captain of the...
, an Israeli footballer, was booed by Malaysian fans during the match. This is attributed to the strong anti-semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
sentiment in the Muslim majority country
Australia
Historically, many Australian LeagueA-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...
clubs have been formed based on ethnic and racial associations and thus there have been instances of people of other groups not getting fair opportunities in football employment. New regulations in 2005 forbade such racial associations.
At a 1994 match in Melbourne between the Croatian
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
community supported Melbourne Knights
Melbourne Knights
Melbourne Knights Football Club is a football club representing Melbourne, Australia in the Victorian Premier League . The club is one of the most successful football clubs in Australia, being a two-time championship and four-time premiership winner in the now defunct National Soccer League...
and the Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
community supported South Melbourne
South Melbourne FC
South Melbourne FC is a football club based in South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Considered the most successful association football club in Australia, they have won four national championships, a string of Victorian State League titles, and represented Oceania in the 2000 FIFA Club World...
, many ethnic slurs were exchanged between the two sets of supporters.
Belgium
Oguchi OnyewuOguchi Onyewu
Oguchialu Chijoke Onyewu also known as "Oguchi" Onyewu is an American soccer player who plays as a defender for Sporting Clube de Portugal, in Primeira Liga, and the United States national team. Onyewu also holds a Belgian passport....
, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
of Nigerian descent
Nigerian American
Nigerian Americans are citizens of the United States of America who are or descend from immigrants from Nigeria. Since the late 1960s and early 1970s, approximately one million Nigerians have immigrated in to the United States....
, has been punched and shouted at by racist fans while playing for Standard Liège
Standard Liège
Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (Dutch: Standard Luik [], German: Standard Lüttich , is a Belgian football club from the city of Liège....
. He's also had incidents with other players, such as Jelle Van Damme
Jelle Van Damme
Jelle Francois Maria Van Damme is a Belgian international footballer who can play as a central defender, left back or left sided midfielder. He is signed to Belgian Pro League club Standard Liège.-Early moves:...
, who, according to Onyewu, repeatedly called him a "dirty ape" during the 2008–09 Championship playoff, even after Onyewu relayed the information to the referees. Van Damme denied the accusations following the match, and claimed that Onyewu had called him a "dirty Flemish". Approximately two weeks later, on June 2, 2009, it was announced by Onyewu's lawyer that he was suing Van Damme in an effort to end on-field racism in European football.
Zola Matumona
Zola Matumona
Zola Matumona is a Congolese footballer. He is currently playing in the Belgian Pro League for R.A.E.C. Mons. He also plays for the Democratic Republic of Congo.-Career:...
left FC Brussels after he accused club chairman Johan Vermeersch of making racist remarks towards him during a crisis meeting at the struggling club. He is reported to have told Matumona to "think about other things than trees and bananas."
France
In January 2005, as part of an anti-racism initiative in the French leagueLigue 1
Ligue 1 , is the French professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of the French football league system. Ligue 1 is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the other being Ligue 2....
, Paris Saint-Germain's players wore all-white jerseys and the opposing RC Lens
RC Lens
Racing Club de Lens is a French association football club based in the northern city of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department. Its nickname, sang et or , comes from its traditional colours of red and gold. Their primary rivals are their northern neighbors Lille OSC, whom they contest the Derby du...
players wore all-black during a French league match. The move backfired as racist elements among PSG's crowd in the Kop of Boulogne sing "Come on the whites." The racist overtone was backed up with monkey chants from the Boulogne crowd when Lens players touch the ball.
On 18 April 2007, Lyon
Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique Lyonnais is a French association football club based in Lyon. They play in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. The club was formed as Lyon Olympique Universitaire in 1899, according to many supporters and sport historians, but was nationally established as a club in 1950. The...
player Milan Baroš
Milan Baroš
Milan Baroš is a Czech footballer who plays as a striker for Galatasaray and the Czech national football team.In the 2008–09 season, Baroš scored 20 goals in Turkish Süper Lig, the highest total in the league...
was accused of racially abusing Rennes'
Stade Rennais FC
Stade Rennais Football Club is a French association football club based in Rennes. The club was founded in 1901 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football. Rennes plays its home matches at the Stade de la Route de Lorient located within the city...
Stéphane M'Bia by implying that M'Bia smelt. On 4 May 2007 Baroš was found guilty of the gesture, but found not guilty of racism, and was banned for three league matches.
On 17 September 2007, Libourne's
FC Libourne-Saint-Seurin
FC Libourne-Saint-Seurin are a French football team from the town of Libourne in Aquitaine. They currently play in the Championnat de France amateur Group C.-History:...
Burkinabe
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
player Boubacar Kébé
Boubacar Kébé
Boubacar Djeidy Kébé is a Burkinabé-Malian footballer, he currently plays for the French club AS Cherbourg Football.- Career :...
was abused by fans of Bastia
SC Bastia
Sporting Club de Bastia is a French association football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club currently plays in the Championnat National, the third division of French football. Bastia previously had stints in both Ligue 1 and Ligue 2...
; he was red-carded for retaliating. In February 2008, Bastia was again at the centre of controversy when their fans unfurled a racist banner, again aimed at Kébé, which delayed the kick-off of the match by three minutes.
On 17 February 2008, Abdeslam Ouaddou
Abdeslam Ouaddou
Abdeslam Ouaddou is a Moroccan football defender. He currently plays for Qatar SC.-Career:He started his footballing career quite late, at the age of 21. On December 7, 2006 Ouaddou asked Olympiacos to release him free because he felt homesick and had some family problems...
of Valenciennes
Valenciennes FC
Valenciennes Football Club is a French association football club based in Valenciennes. The club was founded in 1913 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top level of French football. Valenciennes plays its home matches at the recently-built Stade du Hainaut located within the city...
was racially abused by a fan from opponents Metz
FC Metz
Football Club de Metz, commonly referred to as simply Metz , is a French association football club based in Metz. The club was formed in 1932 and has spent most of its history in the Ligue 1, though they currently play in Ligue 2, the second level in French football league system. Metz plays its...
; Metz and the French league
Ligue de Football Professionnel
The Ligue de Football Professionnel , commonly known as the LFP, is a French governing body that runs the major professional football leagues in France. It was founded in 1944 and serves under the authority of the French Football Federation...
announced that they would be suing the fan in question. The match referee did not see the incident, and so booked Ouaddou for challenging the fan. Valenciennes chairman Francis Decourrière later demanded that the match be replayed, "in front of children from Valenciennes and Metz." Following this incident, the French Football Federation
French Football Federation
The French Football Federation is the governing body of association football in France, as well as the overseas departments and territories . It was formed in 1919 and is based in the capital Paris...
made steps to introduce harsher punishments.
In March 2008, Bastia's Frédéric Mendy
Frédéric Mendy
Frédéric Mendy is a Senegalese-French football midfielder currently playing for Stade Lavallois.-International goals:-External links:**...
claimed he had been racially abused by Grenoble's
Grenoble Foot 38
Grenoble Foot 38, commonly referred to as simply Grenoble, is a French association football club based in Grenoble, a city situated at the foot of the French Alps. The original incarnation of the club was founded in 1892 and, in 1997, was formed into the club that exists today as a result of a merger...
fans.
Germany
Racism in Germany accelerated after the reunification of Germany; by 1992 neo-NaziNeo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
groups in Germany had begun to use football matches as occasions to plan and organise attacks against local ethnic communities and East European, particularly Turkish, refugees.
In 1994, Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
star Júlio César
Júlio César da Silva
Júlio César da Silva, usually known as Júlio César Júlio César da Silva, usually known as Júlio César Júlio César da Silva, usually known as Júlio César (born 8 March 1963 in Bauru (São Paulo) is a retired association footballer from Brazil.- Career :...
threatened to leave the club after he was refused admission to a local nightclub because of his black complexion.
FC St. Pauli
FC St. Pauli
Fußball-Club St. Pauli is a German sports club based in the St. Pauli quarter of Hamburg. The football section is part of a larger club that also has Rugby Fußball-Club St. Pauli is a German sports club based in the St. Pauli quarter of Hamburg. The football section is part of a larger club that...
fans responded decisively to outbreaks of racism in the German game. With the slogan, Gegen rechts ('Against the Right'), a combination of fans and students took to the club's terraces in 1992 to stand up against politically motivated racism.
In December 1992, all the teams in the German League followed the St Pauli lead and, over one weekend, all players played in shirts displaying the slogan Mein Freund ist Ausländer ('My friend is a Foreigner'). The German Sports Youth's 1995 "No Chance for Hatred" campaign has promoted activities against racism and xenophobia on a national scale, encouraging local clubs to participate. Unfortunately, this campaign has not spurred German football authorities into further action.
Merkel (1996) reports that they vehemently refuse to acknowledge that racism is a major problem, and dismiss racist abuses as isolated incidents which have nothing to do with the sport. Most of their measures are concerned with law and order - cutting down violence at matches - but anti-racist action is very sparse. Anti-racist initiatives are designed to create positive publicity but generally consist of little more than token gestures, such as rock concerts and short term advertising campaigns.
Racism in German football is much more subtle than in other parts of Europe; monkey chants have been replaced with codes, such as the number 88, which stands for 'HH' or 'Heil Hitler' ('H' is the eighth letter of the alphabet in German and English). Some teams, for example Hannover 96
Hannover 96
Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96, Hannover or simply 96, is a German association football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony.-Foundation to WWII:...
, have banned such symbols from their stadiums.
On 25 March 2006, in a match between FC Sachsen Leipzig
FC Sachsen Leipzig
FC Sachsen Leipzig was a German football club from Leipzig, Saxony. The roots of the club go back to 1899 and the founding of Britannia Leipzig. Following World War I, a 1919 merger with FC Hertha 05 Leipzig created Leipziger Sportverein 1899...
and Hallescher FC
Hallescher FC
Hallescher FC is a German association football club based in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt.-History:The club's roots are in the 1946 formation of SG Glaucha in Soviet-occupied East Germany around the core of Hallescher Fußball-Club Wacker which was founded in 1900...
, Leipzig's Nigerian midfielder Adebowale Ogungbure
Adebowale Ogungbure
Adebowale Ogungbure is a Nigerian football player. Ogungbure plays for Vissai Ninh Bình of the Vietnamese V-League. He played for one season in the Fußball-Bundesliga with 1. FC Nuremberg....
was spat at and called 'Nigger
Nigger
Nigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people , and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur...
' and 'ape' by opposition fans, who later aimed monkey noises at him. In retaliation he placed two fingers above his mouth and saluted at the crowd - a reference to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. Ogungbure was arrested by German police, as it is illegal to make Nazi gestures for political or abusive purposes, but criminal proceedings were dropped 24 hours later.
In April 2006, in a match between St. Pauli and Chemnitzer FC
Chemnitzer FC
Chemnitzer FC is a German association football club based in Chemnitz, Saxony.The roots of the club go back to its establishment as Chemnitzer BC 1933 in 1933 after the collapse of former Chemnitzer BC 1899....
, visiting Chemnitz fans stormed Turkish-owned stores chanting "Sieg Heil" and waving imitation Nazi flags. Some shouted: "We're going to build a subway from St Pauli to Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
".
Ghana-born German international striker Gerald Asamoah
Gerald Asamoah
Gerald Asamoah is a Ghanaian-born German footballer. He last played as a forward for FC St.Pauli, following an 11-year long stay at Schalke.-Club career:...
has frequently been the target of racist abuse. On 10 September 2006 Hansa Rostock were investigated for racist abuse in a friendly game and were subsequently found guilty; the team was fined $25,000.
On 19 August 2007 it was announced that Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller
Roman Weidenfeller
Roman Weidenfeller is a German footballer who plays for Fußball-Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund as a goalkeeper.-Early career:...
would be investigated by the German Football Association
German Football Association
The German Football Association is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB organises the German football leagues, including the national league, the Bundesliga, and the men's and women's national teams. The DFB is based in Frankfurt and is...
(DFB) after apparently calling Asamoah a 'black pig'.
On 4 February 2007 a racist German football fan was apprehended by fellow fans during a match between Energie Cottbus
Energie Cottbus
FC Energie Cottbus is a German association football club based in Cottbus, Lusatia . It was founded in 1963 as SC Cottbus in what was, at the time, East Germany...
and VfL Bochum
VfL Bochum
Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum, is a German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia.-Founding to World War II:...
, and faces a lifetime ban.
Racist chants in Cottbus
Cottbus
Cottbus is a city in Brandenburg, Germany, situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree. As of , its population was .- History :...
are said to be commonplace.
Torsten Ziegner
Torsten Ziegner
Torsten Ziegner is a German football midfielder who plays for FSV Zwickau.Ziegner was given a five-match ban in October 2008 for racially abusing Nigerian player Kingsley Onuegbu during a match against Eintracht Braunschweig.- External links :*...
was given a five-match ban in October 2008 for racially abusing Nigerian player Kingsley Onuegbu
Kingsley Onuegbu
Kingsley Ugochuwu is a Nigerian football player currently with SpVgg Greuther Fürth.- Career :Ugochuwu played only street soccer in Nigeria, before his football career began in Germany in summer 2005 with SC Idar-Oberstein. In his first professional season for SC Idar-Oberstein in 2007–08,...
during a match against Eintracht Braunschweig
Eintracht Braunschweig
Eintracht Braunschweig is a German association football club based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. The club was one of the founding members of the Bundesliga in 1963 and won the national title in 1967.-History:...
.
Italy
Ronny RosenthalRonny Rosenthal
Ronny Rosenthal also known by the nickname Rocket Ronny is an Israeli former footballer. After starting his career in the city of his birth with Maccabi Haifa, Rosenthal went on to play in Belgium with Club Brugge and Standard Liège. He moved to Liverpool in 1990 for a fee of £1.1million, becoming...
, playing for Israel's Maccabi Haifa
Maccabi Haifa F.C.
Maccabi Haifa Football Club is an Israeli football team from the city of Haifa, a section of Maccabi Haifa sports club. The club has won 12 championships, 5 State Cups and 4 Toto Cups...
in 1989, was subjected to anti-Semitic taunts.
Black footballers playing in the Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
top flight in 1992-1993 were also racially abused. Two black Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
players, Ruud Gullit
Ruud Gullit
OON is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the...
and Aron Winter
Aron Winter
Aron Mohamed Winter [VIN-ter] is a retired Dutch football midfielder and current head coach of Toronto FC...
, have spoken out against such racist taunts. Their complaints spurred a day of action on 13 December 1992, with the slogan No al razzimo! (No To Racism) being paraded by all players in the two Italian divisions.
Paul Ince
Paul Ince
Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince is an English football manager and a former professional player. He has managed Blackburn Rovers, Milton Keynes Dons and Macclesfield Town...
also complained about open abuse during his spell with Inter Milan in Italy between 1995 & 1997.
On 27 November 2005, Marco Zoro
Marco Zoro
Marco André Zoro Kpolo , known as Zoro, is an Ivorian footballer who plays as a defender.-Club career:...
attempted to stop the Messina
F.C. Messina Peloro
Associazione Calcio Rinascita Messina is an Italian football club based in Messina, Sicily. It currently plays in Serie D.- Brief history :The origins of the team go back to 1900 when Messina F.C was founded in the city. The club has spent most of its history in the lower Italian football leagues...
-Inter Milan match by leaving the field with the ball, after being tormented by racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
taunts from some Inter supporters. He was eventually convinced to keep playing by other players, notably by Inter's Adriano
Adriano Leite Ribeiro
Adriano Leite Ribeiro , commonly known as simply Adriano, is a Brazilian footballer who played striker who currently plays for Corinthians...
. These facts then brought strong and unanimous condemnations by the whole football community within Italy, and even a 5 minute delay for an anti-racism display for all the matches to be played in the next week in the country. The actions of the Inter supporters were also brought to the attention of the European football governing body UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
as well as that of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.
On April 2009 Internazionale's Mario Balotelli
Mario Balotelli
Mario Balotelli is an Italian footballer who plays as a striker for English team Manchester City and the Italian national team.He started his professional football career at Lumezzane and only played for the first team twice before having an unsuccessful trial at FC Barcelona, and subsequently...
, an Italian footballer of Ghanaian descent, was subjected to racial abuse from Juventus fans. They were handed a one game home fan ban as a result.
Lithuania
On 24 March 2007, in a match between FranceFrance national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
and Lithuania
Lithuania national football team
The national football team of Lithuania is under the auspices of the Lithuanian Football Federation. It played its first match in 1923. In 1940, Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union; the country regained its independence in 1990 and played their first match as a new nation against Georgia on...
, a racist banner was unfurled by Lithuanian supporters. Directed against France's black players, it represented a map of Africa, painted with the French flag colors (blue, white and red), with a slogan of "Welcome to Europe".
Montenegro
In a match between RangersRangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
and FK Zeta
FK Zeta
FK Zeta is a football club from Montenegro. It is based in Golubovci, a suburb of Podgorica.- History :The club was formed in 1927 as FK Danica. In 1945 it was renamed to FK Napredak. In 1955 it was renamed to FK Zeta....
, Rangers players DaMarcus Beasley
DaMarcus Beasley
DaMarcus Lamont Beasley is an American soccer player who plays for Puebla of the Mexican Primera División. He plays mainly as a winger on the left side of the midfield, but has also been used as a forward and fullback...
(an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
) and Jean-Claude Darcheville
Jean-Claude Darcheville
Jean-Claude Ducan Darcheville is a former French footballer who played as a striker. He played for various clubs in France, England and Scotland. He spent the final two years of his career with Greek Super League side AO Kavala....
(a black Frenchman) were subjected to racist abuse by FK Zeta players and Zeta were later fined £9,000.
Netherlands
Ajax fans have the tradition of using Jewish and IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i symbols to express their allegiance. Regularly, the supporters wave large Star of David
Star of David
The Star of David, known in Hebrew as the Shield of David or Magen David is a generally recognized symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism.Its shape is that of a hexagram, the compound of two equilateral triangles...
flags and scream Joden! Joden! ("Jews! Jews!") to fire up their team. Die-hard Ajax supporters call themselves "F-Siders" or "Joden" - Dutch for "Jews" - a nickname that reflects the team's and Amsterdam's Jewish roots. However, opposing supporters are known to use anti-Semitic remarks to express their antipathy towards Ajax. This is expressed in slogans such as Hamas, hamas, joden aan het gas (Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
, Hamas, Jews into the gas
Gas chamber
A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. The most commonly used poisonous agent is hydrogen cyanide; carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have also been used...
) or producing hissing sounds that imitate the flow of gas.
This however, does not withhold the 'Jewish' supporters from celebrating the Bombing of Rotterdam by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
when facing Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam
Feyenoord is a Dutch professional football club located in Rotterdam. Along with Ajax and PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord is one of the "big three" clubs in the Netherlands. These three clubs and Utrecht and Roda JC are the only clubs never to have been relegated from the Dutch first division...
with songs like Rotterdam, kankerstad, in de oorlog lag je lekker plat (Rotterdam, cancer town, in the war they rightly bombed it down!). Songs like this (using the melody of "Tulips from Amsterdam") were sung from the stage, i.e. organised, at the celebration of the winning of the Dutch Cup
KNVB Cup
The KNVB Cup is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association since 1899. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside of the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup...
in 2006.
The hardcore Ajax fans, however, are proud of their outsider image as "Jews" and feel encouraged to show more Israeli/Jewish signs. Jews who support Ajax are split on this matter. Dutch authorities have tried to tone down the Jewish symbols of support for Ajax, hoping to lead to a decrease of anti-Semitic counter-incidents. However, the head of the European Board of Jewish Deputies has signalled his support for the F-siders, noting that anti-Semitism in Europe would be lessened if more non-Jews identified with Jewish culture.
As The Netherlands harboured Jews from Nazi Germany before being overrun in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, this carries over to matches involving the national team
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...
.
In a 1991 interview, SC Heerenveen manager Fritz Korbach
Fritz Korbach
Fritz Korbach was a German professional football player and manager, active primarily in the Netherlands, where he died in 2011....
racially abused black players Bryan Roy
Bryan Roy
Bryan Edward Steven Roy is a Dutch football manager and a former professional player. He has managed various of Ajax' youth teams – formerly Ajax E1 and now Ajax B.-Career:...
("een kleine rotneger", "a short fucking nigger") and Romário
Romário
Romário de Souza Faria , better known simply as Romário , is a former footballer who played striker,manager and current politician where is currently running for a mayor like position in his hometown...
("die koffieboon van PSV", "that coffee bean
Coffee bean
A coffee bean is a seed of a coffee plant. It is the pit inside the red or purple fruit often referred to as a cherry. Even though they are seeds, they are referred to as 'beans' because of their resemblance to true beans. The fruits - coffee cherries or coffee berries - most commonly contain two...
of PSV"). During Euro 96, black player Edgar Davids
Edgar Davids
Edgar Steven Davids is a retired Dutch footballer and current member of the supervisory board of Ajax. After beginning his career with the Amsterdam club, he subsequently played in Italy for Milan and Juventus before a loan spell with Barcelona. He went on to play for Internazionale and Tottenham...
was sent home after publicly alleging discrimination within the team's organisation.
Norway
In one case, young player Caleb FrancisCaleb Francis
Caleb Francis is a Mauritian-Norwegian retired football midfielder. He was born in Mauritius, and spent most of his career at Kongsvinger, Bryne and Ull/Kisa. After retiring as an active player he has worked as both football commentator and coach.-Career:He hails from Mauritius, and came to Norway...
was severely abused in his debut match for Kongsvinger IL
Kongsvinger IL
Kongsvinger Idrettslag is a Norwegian sports club from the city of Kongsvinger in Hedmark, founded in 1892. It is known chiefly for its football team for men, but also does or have done well in other sports.-Athletics:...
. The abuse halted and nearly broke his career, but he returned to Kongsvinger's senior team after a two years, and enjoyed a long career.
Several other players have experienced racism, often while playing national or club matches abroad. These players include Daniel Braaten
Daniel Braaten
Daniel Omoya Braaten is a Norwegian footballer who plays as a winger for Toulouse and Norway national football team.-Early career:...
and Pa Modou Kah
Pa Modou Kah
Pa Modou Kah is a Norwegian football defender of Gambian descent. He currently plays for Al Khor in Qatar. In December 2000, he had a trial with Manchester United.-External links:* at V-bal.nl...
.
Top-tier club Vålerenga Fotball famously played their with the slogan "Vålerenga Against Racism" instead of a shirt sponsor in the 1997 season. An official campaign, initiated by the footballers' trade union, is called "Give Racism the Red Card".
Poland
According to The Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism football stadiums in Poland are recruiting ground for extremist organizations (such as antisemitic National Rebirth of Poland). Until a few years ago, Neo-fascist symbols were a common sight there.During the Extraordinary Congress of the International Football Federation (FIFA), held in Buenos Aires on 6–7 July 2001, the problem of racism in Polish football was discussed and Polish national football association was called to join the struggle against racism. The problem of antisemitism in Polish football has drawn international criticism. Poland was named as one of the worst offenders, in British MP John Mann
John Mann (politician)
John Mann is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Bassetlaw since 2001, after the retirement of previous MP Joe Ashton.John Mann serves on the Treasury Select Committee...
report, which describes anti-Semitic incidents in 18 countries across Europe. It was noted that Polish fans routinely call
each other 'Jews' as a term of abuse. In April 2008 ŁKS Łódź player Arkadiusz Mysona
Arkadiusz Mysona
Arkadiusz Mysona is a Polish football player who currently plays for LKS Nieciecza.-External links:...
wore a shirt which said "Śmierć żydzewskiej kurwie" ("Death to Widzew
Widzew Lódz
RTS Widzew Łódź , is a professional Polish football club based in Łódź, Poland.The club was founded in 1910 and named after the "Widzew" district of the city where it is based; its home is the Stadion im. Ludwika Sobolewskiego at 138 Pilsudski street. Widzew has won four Polish league championships...
-Jewish Whore", which is a word play, used by the LKS Lodz supporters, who call fans of their local rivals Jews) after a match in the Polish Ekstraklasa. Mysona said afterwards that the shirt was given to him by a fan and he hadn´t checked it.
Supporters of the football club Cracovia from Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
often refer to themselves as "Jews" in a positive manner, much in the same way as fans of AFC Ajax in the Netherlands. In a manner similar to Ajax, the self-identification is related to the team's history. Quite a few of the founders of both clubs from Lodz
Lódz
Łódź is the third-largest city in Poland. Located in the central part of the country, it had a population of 742,387 in December 2009. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is approximately south-west of Warsaw...
were Polish Jews.
Russia
CameroonianCameroon national football team
The Cameroon national football team, nicknamed Les Lions Indomptables , is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football and is Africa's most successful side in FIFA world cup; having qualified for the FIFA World Cup six times – in 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010– more than any...
player André Bikey
André Bikey
André Stéphane Bikey-Amougou is a Cameroonian footballer, who currently plays for Burnley and the Cameroon national team. He can play in the centre of defence or at right back. He began his career in Spain at the age of fifteen, before having short spells in Russia with Shinnik Yaroslavl and...
suffered racism while playing for Lokomotiv
FC Lokomotiv Moscow
The following years were rather successful as Lokomotiv were consistent in the national championships. However, performances after World War II suffered and actually in the space of five year Lokomotiv were relegated to the Soviet First League twice. In 1951, Lokomotiv came second and eventually...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
As Zenit kicked off their 2006/07 Russian Premier League campaign against visitors Saturn, Brazilian footballer Antonio Geder was received with a chorus of monkey chants at Petrovsky Stadium.
In March 2008, black players of French side Marseille
Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille is a French association football club based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the club plays in Ligue 1 and have spent most of its history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions nine times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In...
- including André Ayew
André Ayew
André Morgan Rami Ayew is a Ghanaian football player who currently plays for French club Marseille in Ligue 1. He is often referred to as simply Dédé. Ayew plays as a winger, but can play as a striker...
, Ronald Zubar
Ronald Zubar
Ronald Zubar is a French footballer of Guadeloupean descent who plays as a defender for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers....
and Charles Kaboré
Charles Kaboré
Charles Kaboré is a footballer from Burkina Faso.- Career :Kaboré played on youthside for Association Sportive SONABEL and Etoile Filante Ouagadougou...
- were targeted by fans of Zenit Saint Petersburg
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg
Football Club Zenit is a Russian football club from the city of Saint-Petersburg. Founded in 1925 , the club plays in the Russian Premier League...
; Zenit fans were later warned by police in Manchester not to repeat their behaviour ahead of the 2008 UEFA Cup Final
2008 UEFA Cup Final
The 2008 UEFA Cup Final was the 37th final of the UEFA Cup, UEFA's second tier club football tournament. The match was played at the City of Manchester Stadium, home ground of Manchester City F.C., in Manchester, England, at 20:45 CEST on 14 May 2008.The match was contested by Zenit St. Petersburg...
. Later Zenit's coach Dick Advocaat
Dick Advocaat
Dirk Nicolaas "Dick" Advocaat is a Dutch football manager and former player currently the manager of the Russia national football team.He has been moderately successful as a football player and as a coach, which included two stints with the Dutch national football team...
revealed the club's supporters were racist. When they attempted to sign Mathieu Valbuena
Mathieu Valbuena
Mathieu Valbuena is a French international footballer who plays for Marseille in Ligue 1. He plays as an attacking midfielder and a winger and is known for his quickness, technical ability, and tenacious style of play...
, a Frenchman, many fans asked "Is he a negro
Negro
The word Negro is used in the English-speaking world to refer to a person of black ancestry or appearance, whether of African descent or not...
?" Also Serge Branco
Serge Branco
-Club:Branco spent the initial years of his career in Germany. He signed for Leeds United in August 2004, but was released on 13 September for fitness reasons. From 2005 to 2007 he played in the Russian league.-International:...
, who played for Krylya Sovetov
Krylya Sovetov
Krylya Sovetov may refer to:*FC Krylia Sovetov Samara, football club from Samara, Russia*FC Krylia Sovetov-SOK, football club from Dimitrovgrad, Russia*MHC Krylya Sovetov, ice hockey club that competes in the Russian MHL...
, accused Zenit's staff of racism. "Each time I play in St Petersburg I have to listen to racist insults from the stands. Zenit bosses do not do anything about it which makes me think they are racists too."
On 20 August 2010, Odemwingie joined Premier League team West Bromwich Albion for an undisclosed fee. He signed a 3 year contract and was granted the number 24 shirt. Shortly after signing for West Brom, photographs showed Lokomotiv Moscow fans celebrating the sale of Odemwingie through the use of racist banners targeted at the player. One banner included the image of a banana and read "Thanks West Brom" (10)
On 12 February 2011, Roberto Carlos signed a contract with Russian Premier League club Anzhi Makhachkala
FC Anzhi Makhachkala
FC Anzhi Makhachkala is a Russian football club based in Makhachkala, capital of the Republic of Dagestan, which plays in the Russian Premier League. The word "Anzhi" is part of Anzhi-Qala the old name of Makhachkala.-History:The club was founded in 1991 and has played in the Russian league since...
. In March, during a game away at Zenit Saint Petersburg
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg
Football Club Zenit is a Russian football club from the city of Saint-Petersburg. Founded in 1925 , the club plays in the Russian Premier League...
, a banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
was held near Carlos by one of the fans as the footballer was taking part in a flag-raising ceremony. In June, in a match away at Krylia Sovetov Samara, Roberto Carlos received a pass from the goalkeeper and was about to pass it when a banana was thrown on to the pitch, landing nearby. The 38-year-old Brazilian picked it up and threw it by the sidelines, walking off the field before the final whistle and raising two fingers at the stands, indicating this was the second such incident since March.
Serbia
In October 2006, 37 Borac Cacak fans were arrested and eight faced criminal charges after racially abusing the club's Zimbabwean player Mike TemwanjeraMike Temwanjera
Mike Temwanjera is a Zimbabwean footballer who currently plays for Romanian Liga I side FC Vaslui. He usually plays as a Centre forward, but he can also serve as a Second Striker. He is one of the longest serving players at his club, playing for Vaslui, since January 2007 and up to now he is...
during a first division match. Several days later, 152 supporters of first division side Rad Belgrade were detained after shouting anti-Muslim slogans during a match against their Novi Pazar rivals. Borac Cacak was at the centre of more controversy in March 2008 when a Ghanaian player, Solomon Opoku, was attacked by fans; six fans were later arrested, with four being later charged.
On 29 November 2006, Hajduk Kula coach Nebojsa Vucicevic
Nebojša Vucicevic
Nebojša "Uške" Vučićević is a Serbian football manager and former player....
racially insulted Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
's Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
defender Ibrahima Gueye
Ibrahima Gueye
Ibrahima Gueye is a Senegalese footballer who plays for K.S.C. Lokeren as a central defender.- Career :Gueye started his professional playing career with Dakar UC in Senegal before joining another Senegalese club, AS Douanes...
.
An unnamed Serbia U-21 player
Serbia national football team
The Serbia national football team represents Serbia in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia, the governing body for football in Serbia. Serbia's home ground is Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade and their last head coach was Vladimir Petrović...
was accused of racially abusing Justin Hoyte
Justin Hoyte
Justin Raymond Hoyte is an English footballer who plays for Middlesbrough. His younger brother, Gavin Hoyte, plays for Arsenal in the reserve team. His mother is the British sprinter, Wendy Hoyte.-Arsenal:...
, while Serbian fans also apparently racially abused Nedum Onuoha
Nedum Onuoha
Chinedum "Nedum" Onuoha is an English-Nigerian footballer. He currently plays for Manchester City. He is a defender, typically a centre back, but he can also play at right back or left back.-Biography:...
.
Following racist abuse from FK Zeta
FK Zeta
FK Zeta is a football club from Montenegro. It is based in Golubovci, a suburb of Podgorica.- History :The club was formed in 1927 as FK Danica. In 1945 it was renamed to FK Napredak. In 1955 it was renamed to FK Zeta....
fans, DaMarcus Beasley
DaMarcus Beasley
DaMarcus Lamont Beasley is an American soccer player who plays for Puebla of the Mexican Primera División. He plays mainly as a winger on the left side of the midfield, but has also been used as a forward and fullback...
recalled previous instances of racism in Serbia, from fans of Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
. However, Red Star has been defended by some of its black players, such as Segundo Castillo
Segundo Castillo
Segundo Alejandro Castillo Nazareno is an Ecuadorian international footballer who plays for CF Pachuca, on the Primera División Mexicana...
and Franklin Salas
Franklin Salas
Franklin Agustín Salas Narváez is an Ecuadorian football forward who currently plays for Godoy Cruz, on loan from LDU Quito.His nickname is Mago, meaning wizard or magician.-Club career:...
, with Castillo saying that "Red Star fans are not racist".
Slovakia
On 4 April 2007 football supporters from Slovan BratislavaŠK Slovan Bratislava
ŠK Slovan Bratislava is a football club based in Bratislava, Slovakia, that plays in the Corgoň liga. Founded as 1. ČsŠK Bratislava in 1919, the club changed its name to Slovan Bratislava in 1953...
displayed a banner which contained the words 'Alles Gute Adi' and a smiley-head face of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
during a match against FC Senec
FC Senec
FC Senec was a football club from Senec. It existed in years 1994 - 2008. After 2007/2008 season it was merged with FK DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda.- Previous names :* 1990 - STK Senec* 1992 - FK Koba Senec* 1995 - FK VTJ Koba Senec* 2002 - FK Koba Senec...
; racist chants were also heard. Just three days later, on 7 April 2007, Slovan Bratislava fans were responsible for directing monkey chants at Artmedia's Karim Guede
Karim Guede
Karim Guédé is a naturalized Slovak football defensive midfielder who currently plays for the Slovak Corgoň Liga club ŠK Slovan Bratislava and the Slovakia national football team.-Club career:...
.
Spain
Aston VillaAston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
's Dalian Atkinson
Dalian Atkinson
Dalian Robert Atkinson is an English former footballer who played as a striker in the Football League and Premier League for Ipswich Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa and Manchester City, in La Liga for Real Sociedad, in Ligue 1 for Metz, in the Turkish Super League for Fenerbahçe, in Saudi...
returned from Spain after one season with Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 September 1909...
, unhappy with the reception he received, and identifying racial abuse as a major factor in his rapid departure from the Spanish club.
Felix Dja Ettien suffered racial abuse when he first signed for Levante
Levante UD
Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, in the namesake community.Founded in 1909, it plays in La Liga, holding home games at Estadi Ciutat de València.-Early years:...
; he was ignored by the coach due to his inability to speak Spanish, and whenever he fell ill he was accused of having malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
or AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
.
During a training session in 2004, a Spanish TV crew filmed Spanish national team
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
head coach Luis Aragonés
Luis Aragonés
José Luis Aragonés Suárez , usually referred to as Luis Aragonés and sometimes simply as Luis, is a former Spanish footballer and national coach....
trying to motivate José Antonio Reyes
José Antonio Reyes
José Antonio Reyes Calderón is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Atlético Madrid.Mainly a left winger but also a forward, he made his professional debuts for hometown's Sevilla at only 16, signing with England's Arsenal aged 20.After a relatively successful career abroad, Reyes...
by making offensive and racist references to Reyes' then teammate at Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
, Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...
. The phrase used was "Demuestra que eres mejor que ese negro de mierda", translated as "Show that you're better than that black shit". The incident caused uproar in the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
media with calls for Aragonés to be sacked. However these opinions were not widely supported in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, with the national football federation declining to take any action, and politicians being slow to denounce the remarks. When Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
played England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
in a friendly match at the Bernabéu
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
The Estadio Santiago Bernabéu is an all-seater football stadium in Madrid, Spain. It was inaugurated on 14 December 1947 and is owned by Real Madrid Club de Fútbol. It has a current capacity of 85,454 spectators....
soon after, on 17 November 2004, the atmosphere was hostile. Whenever black England players touched the ball, a significant proportion of the Spanish crowd began to make monkey chants, in particular to Shaun Wright-Phillips
Shaun Wright-Phillips
Shaun Cameron Wright-Phillips is an English footballer who plays for Queens Park Rangers and the England national team. He is the adopted son of former England international, Ian Wright and the half-brother of fellow professional football player Bradley Wright-Phillips...
and Ashley Cole
Ashley Cole
Ashley Cole is an Barbadian-English professional footballer who plays for Chelsea and the England national team. He plays as a left-back and has been named one of the best in the world....
. And when England sang their national anthem before kick off, Spanish fans also racially chanted against English players. Aragonés' remarks were widely blamed by the British press for inciting the incident. After an investigation into the events during the match, UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
fined the RFEF 100,000 CHF/ 87,000 USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
and warned that any future incidents would be punished more severely. The incident even drew reactions from then-Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and Sports Minister Richard Caborn
Richard Caborn
Richard George Caborn PC is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Central from 1983 to 2010...
., with Caborn making the claim that the behaviour of Spanish fans was twenty or thirty years behind that their British counterparts. UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
noted that possible punishments could include suspension from major international tournaments or the closure of Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
home international matches to supporters. On 7 February 2007 Aragonés won an appeal over the offence, with the misdemeanour being downgraded to "conduct which could be considered to be racist".
In February 2005, Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o Fils is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Russian team Anzhi Makhachkala. He is also the current captain of the Cameroon national team.Eto'o trained at Kadji Sports Academy...
suffered from racially-driven verbal abuse by some Real Zaragoza
Real Zaragoza
Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. is a Spanish association football team from Zaragoza in Spain. Founded on 18 March 1932, Real Zaragoza have spent the majority of their 78 year history in the Spanish top-flight. Real Zaragoza are Spain's 9th highest ranked team in overall league points...
spectators during a match for FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
. The fans began making monkey-like chants whenever Eto'o had possession of the ball and peanuts were hurled onto the pitch. Eto'o threatened to leave the pitch in the middle of the game, but was prevented by the intervention of his team-mates and the referee, who rushed to the pitch to calm him down. His teammate Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira , commonly known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúcho, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Flamengo and the Brazilian national team as an attacking midfielder or forward. He is a two-time winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year, awarded to the best player over the year...
, who has suffered similar abuses but less intensely, said he was fed up with the sounds and that if Eto'o had left the pitch, he would have done the same. As Barcelona won 4-1, Eto'o danced like a monkey, saying rival fans were treating him as a monkey. Referee Fernando Carmona Mendez did not mention the incidents in his match report, commenting only that the behaviour of the crowd was "normal". The fans were identified to police by fellow spectators and they were fined and banned from attending sporting events for five months. Eto'o declared in the aftermath that the punishment was insufficient and that La Romareda
La Romareda
Estadio de La Romareda is the home stadium of Real Zaragoza, in Zaragoza. It was inaugurated on September 8, 1957, with a game between Real Zaragoza and CA Osasuna . The official capacity is 34,596, with an average attendance of around 30,000 for Real Zaragoza matches.The stadium has gone through...
, Real Zaragoza's stadium, should have been closed for at least one year. However, Eto'o's coach, Frank Rijkaard
Frank Rijkaard
Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard is a Dutch football manager of Dutch and Surinamese descent and former player. Rijkaard has played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and Milan, and represented his national side 73 times, scoring 10 goals. In his coaching career, he has been at the helm of the Dutch national side,...
, told him to concentrate on football and to stop talking about the incident. Eto'o has stated that he does not take his children to football matches, due the prevalent racism and has also suggested that players walk off if they become victims of racism.
Many other African footballers have also been victims of racial abuse, such as Cameroon's
Cameroon national football team
The Cameroon national football team, nicknamed Les Lions Indomptables , is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football and is Africa's most successful side in FIFA world cup; having qualified for the FIFA World Cup six times – in 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010– more than any...
Idriss Carlos Kameni
Idriss Carlos Kameni
Idriss Carlos Kameni is a Cameroonian footballer who plays for RCD Espanyol in the Spanish first division, as a goalkeeper.-France:...
, who was abused while playing for Espanyol
RCD Espanyol
Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona is a sports club based in Barcelona, Spain. It is best known for its football team. Espanyol currently play in the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat with seats for 40,500 spectators. It was inaugurated on 2 August 2009...
against Atlético Madrid, who were fined €6000.
In January 2009, the Royal Spanish Football Federation fined Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
about $3,900 after a group of fans made fascist gestures and chanted fascist slogans at a match. Match referee Alfonso Perez Burrull cited "extremist or radical symbolism," and chanted making reference to "the gas chamber."¨
Sweden
In 2009, fans of Swedish football team IFK GöteborgIFK Göteborg
IFK Göteborg is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, the club has won 18 national championship titles, five national cup titles, and two UEFA Cups....
attacked supporters of rivals Malmö FF
Malmö FF
Malmö Fotbollförening, also known simply as Malmö FF, are a Swedish professional football club based in Malmö. The club is affiliated with Skånes Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Swedbank Stadion. The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit, are sky blue and white...
by referring to them as "Rosengårdstattare" ("Rosengård
Rosengård
Rosengård, literally "Rose court", is a city district in Malmö, Sweden. As of 1 January 2007, the population was 21,955, of which 60 percent were born outside of Sweden. In 2008 a total 86% of the population in the city district was of foreign background...
gypsies"), in a racist reference to the large immigrant population of Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
. Also, fans of Helsingborgs IF
Helsingborgs IF
Helsingborgs IF , commonly referred to as Helsingborg and locally HIF, is a Swedish football club located in Helsingborg. They are currently playing in the highest Swedish league, Allsvenskan...
have been known to yell monkey chants at opposing dark-skinned players.
England
The Commission for Racial EqualityCommission for Racial Equality
The Commission for Racial Equality was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom which aimed to tackle racial discrimination and promote racial equality. Its work has been merged into the new Equality and Human Rights Commission.-History:...
(CRE), the Football Supporters Association (FSA) and the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) have all launched initiatives in a bid to encourage more people from ethnic minorities to attend matches.
Arthur Wharton
Arthur Wharton
Arthur Wharton is widely considered to be the first black professional association football player in the world...
, born in Gold Coast
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, was the world's first Black professional footballer, and played as a goalkeeper for Darlington
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...
, although he was outdated by Andrew Watson, who was a Scottish amateur footballer. Other early non-white footballers include Walter Tull
Walter Tull
Walter Daniel John Tull was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward for Tottenham Hotspur and Northampton Town...
and Hong Y Soo.
The dark-skinned Everton F.C.
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
center-forward, Dixie Dean
Dixie Dean
William Ralph Dean , better known as Dixie Dean, was an English football player. Dean originally started his career with Birkenhead based Tranmere Rovers before moving on to Everton, the club he had supported as a child, where he became one of the most prolific goal-scorers in English football...
, recalled how racist comments were aimed at him as he left the pitch at half time during a match in London in the 1930s. Dean, reportedly, punched the offender himself before disappearing into the players' tunnel. The authorities took no action against Dean, and a nearby police officer was alleged to have informed the victim that he had "deserved" his punishment.
Steve Mokone
Steve Mokone
Stephen Madi Mokone OIG is a former South African footballer who was the first black player to play in a professional European league...
, a black South African who later played for FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
, left Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
after his manager said to him "We brought you over here and you are not satisfied. That's the trouble with you people"; Mokone interpreted this as being racist, and he swiftly signed for Heracles Almelo
Heracles Almelo
Heracles Almelo is a football club from Almelo, Netherlands.Heracles Almelo were founded on May 3, 1903 as Heracles, after the demigod son of Zeus. They changed their name on July 1, 1974 to SC Heracles '74 and finally settled on the current name in 1998. The club has won the Dutch national title...
.
The player Roger Verdi
Roger Verdi
Roger Verdi is a retired English professional footballer who spent his entire career in North America, making over 100 league appearances in the North American Soccer League.-Early life:...
, who is of Indian origin, changed his name from Rajinder Singh Birdi due to racism.
In the 1970s, future England full-back Viv Anderson
Viv Anderson
Vivian Alexander "Viv" Anderson MBE is an English football player and coach, who played for clubs including Nottingham Forest, Arsenal, Manchester United and Sheffield Wednesday in the 1970s and 1980s...
endured racist abuse as an 18 year old playing for Nottingham Forest against Newcastle, and was pelted with apples and pears from Carlisle supporters while warming up for Nottingham Forest as a substitute. When he retreated back to the bench to inform manager Brian Clough
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough, OBE was an English footballer and football manager. He is most notable for his success with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. His achievement of winning back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest, a traditionally moderate provincial English club, is considered to be...
of the abuse he was told to go back out and fetch him 'two pears and a banana'.
In the 1980s, racism in football in England was rampant. Paul Canoville
Paul Canoville
Paul Canoville is an English former professional footballer, most notable for being the first ever black player to play for Chelsea.- Early career :...
was abused by his own fans when he warmed up for Chelsea before making his début. Garth Crooks
Garth Crooks
Garth Anthony Crooks OBE is a retired English football player of Jamaican ancestry. He played principally for Stoke City and Tottenham, with whom he was a prolific goal scorer and an FA Cup winner at Wembley in 1981...
was regularly subject to racist chants and banners from opposing fans during his time at Spurs. Cyrille Regis
Cyrille Regis
Cyrille Regis, MBE is a French-born English former footballer. His professional playing career spanned 19 years, where he made 610 league appearances and scored 159 league goals, most prolifically at West Bromwich Albion and Coventry City.-Early life:Regis was born in Maripasoula, French Guiana,...
endured monkey chants from Newcastle fans on his away début for West Bromwich Albion and was later sent a bullet in the post following his call up to the England squad. In 1987 John Barnes was pictured back-heeling a banana off the pitch during a match for Liverpool against Everton, whose fans chanted 'Everton are white'.
On 21 April 2004, Ron Atkinson
Ron Atkinson
Ronald Ernest Atkinson, commonly known as "Big Ron" and "Bojangles" is an English former football player and manager. In recent years he has become one of Britain's best-known football pundits...
resigned from ITV after he was caught making a racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
remark live on air about the black Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
player Marcel Desailly
Marcel Desailly
Marcel Desailly is a retired Ghanaian born French footballer and star of the France national football team squad, with whom he won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000...
: believing the microphone to be switched off, he said, "...he [Desailly] is what is known in some schools as a fucking lazy thick nigger". Although transmission in the UK had finished, the microphone gaffe
Microphone gaffe
A microphone gaffe, sometimes referred to as an open microphone , is an error whereby a microphone is switched on in proximity of a subject who is unaware that their remarks are being broadcast. The error allows unintended listeners to hear parts of private conversations...
meant that his comment was broadcast to various countries in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. He also left his job as a columnist for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
"by mutual agreement" as a result of the comment.
On 13 January 2007, The FA
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
charged Newcastle
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
player Emre Belözoğlu
Emre Belözoglu
Emre Belözoğlu is a Turkish football midfielder who plays for Fenerbahçe.Having also played for clubs Galatasaray, Internazionale, and Newcastle United, Emre has been a part of the Turkey national team at the 2002 World Cup and at Euro 2008 among other tournaments...
with "using racially-aggravated abusive and/or insulting words", referring to an incident during the 3-0 defeat by Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
at Goodison Park
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...
on 30 December 2006. Emre was, on 16 February 2007, accused of more racist behaviour, this time against Bolton's
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
El Hadji Diouf
El Hadji Diouf
El Hadji Ousseynou Diouf is a Senegalese footballer who currently plays for Doncaster Rovers. He can play on both wings as well as in attack. He has also garnered a large amount of notoriety for a series of controversial incidents.-Early career:Diouf started his career in France with...
. However, on 1 March 2007, it was revealed that Diouf would not be pursuing his claim. It was also later revealed that Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
player Al Bangura had released a statement declaring that he was the victim of racist abuse from Emre. On 19 March he was cleared of the charges relating to the Everton game.
On 6 March 2007 it was announced that the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
were investigating apparent anti-Semitic chants by West Ham
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
fans before the match with Spurs
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
two days previously after a video of the offence surfaced on the internet.
On 7 April 2007, in a match between Rotherham
Rotherham United F.C.
Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...
and Gillingham
Gillingham F.C.
Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...
, Gillingham keeper Kelvin Jack
Kelvin Jack
Kelvin Kyron Jack is a Trinidadian football goalkeeper who currently plays for Maidstone United. He has earned 33 caps for Trinidad and Tobago since his international debut in 1997 and played for his country in the 2006 FIFA World Cup....
was racially abused by a Rotherham fan. On 13 April 2007, the fan was banned for life from the club.
Following his appointment as manager in September 2007, Israeli Avram Grant has been the subject of anti-Semitic taunts from some Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
fans; Grant's father was a Polish survivor of the German Nazi Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
; Grant has also received death threats and anti-Semitic post.
In November 2008, Middlesbrough's Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian forward Mido was subjected to Islamophobic chanting from a small number of Newcastle United fans. Mido had been subjected to similar chants the previous year, again from Newcastle fans.
Player John Barnes
John Barnes (footballer)
John Charles Bryan Barnes MBE is an English football manager and former player.During his playing career, Barnes had successful periods at Watford and Liverpool in the 1980s and 1990s, winning the First Division twice, the FA Cup twice, and playing for England 79 times...
was targeted by his own team's fans.
During a League Cup
2009–10 Football League Cup
The 2009–10 Football League Cup, known as the Carling Cup due to the competition's sponsorship by lager brand Carling, was the 50th season of the Football League Cup, a knock-out competition for England's top 92 football clubs....
match between Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
and Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
at the Britannia Stadium
Britannia Stadium
The Britannia Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England and the home of Premier League club Stoke City Football Club. With space for 27,598 spectators . The name is taken from the sponsors of the Stadium the Britannia Co-operative Bank...
on 22 September 2009, Blackpool player Jason Euell
Jason Euell
Jason Joseph Euell is a Jamaican-English football player who plays for Charlton Athletic. He can play as either a forward or a midfielder...
, who at the time was sat on the substitutes bench was racially abused by a Stoke fan, who was ejected from the stadium and subsequently arrested by Staffordshire Police
Staffordshire Police
Staffordshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent in the West Midlands of England...
, before being released pending inquiries. Euell confronted the supporter that was taunting him. Blackpool manager Ian Holloway
Ian Holloway
Ian Scott Holloway is an English football manager and former player. He became the manager of Blackpool in May 2009. Holloway is well-known amongst football fans for his off-the-wall interviews, with a wide selection of quotes and soundbites being printed. Holloway's playing career spanned 18...
, who had to restrain Euell, was furious in his post-match interview, saying:
We are human beings and Jason is a footballer. The colour of his skin shouldn't matter. It was disgusting. The stewards believed what Jason said, got the bloke out and I hope he is banned for life. (He is) an absolute disgrace of a human being. I thought those days had gone. Jason was just sat in the dugout at the time. I saw his reaction and I had to calm him down. It's absolutely disgraceful.
Euell, who received an official apology from Stoke City, later said:
It did hurt. I felt I had to stand up for all colours and creeds and show that we won't accept it. I'm proud that I made a stand. It was a shock to hear what came out of the guy's mouth. Racism in football is not dead and buried but it's still a shock to hear that kind of thing in close proximity. There were people near the idiot who didn't agree with it, but there were others who turned a blind eye, which was disappointing.
In the wake of the incident, Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
manager Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp
Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....
called for fans who racially abuse players to be imprisoned: "That is disgusting – there's no place for that in the game. Surely we can't have that sort of behaviour now? Anyone who does it should be put in prison – not banned from football. Stick them where they belong, in the nut-house. It's wrong."
In April 2011, an initiative was launched by comedian David Baddiel
David Baddiel
David Lionel Baddiel is an English comedian, novelist and television presenter.-Early life:Baddiel was born in New York, and moved to England when he was four months old. His father, Colin Brian Baddiel, was a Welsh research chemist with Unilever before being made redundant in the 1980s, after...
to tackle anti-semitism in the sport, which was backed by players including Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side...
, Ledley King
Ledley King
Ledley Brenton King is an English footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur. He is the longest serving player at the club and captained Spurs since 2005. He is currently contracted to Tottenham until 2012...
and Kieran Gibbs
Kieran Gibbs
Kieran James Ricardo Gibbs is an English footballer who plays for Arsenal and was a product of their academy who came to prominence during 2006-07 FA Youth Cup by scoring in the semi-final prior to his first-team breakthrough...
.
Scotland
Andrew Watson was the first black football player to represent ScotlandScotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
. Watson never turned professional, however, so Arthur Wharton
Arthur Wharton
Arthur Wharton is widely considered to be the first black professional association football player in the world...
is sometimes reported as being the first black British footballer.
The book Race, Sport and British Society says there was racist abuse of Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
player Paul Wilson
Paul Wilson (Scottish footballer)
Paul Wilson , is a former Scottish professional footballer of mixed Scottish and Portugese parentage.-Club career:...
by Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
fans in the 1970s: "Rangers fans repeatedly bayed 'Wilson's a Paki
Paki
Paki may refer to:*Paki, California, former settlement in Butte County*Paki, a derogatory term for a person from Pakistan*Pākī , Hawaiian high chief during the reign of King Kamehameha III...
' when Celtic played Rangers". There have been reports that some Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
fans used to sing "I'd rather be a darkie than a Tim". The book Sport and National Identity In the Post-War World says "black players in Scotland were greeted with bananas thrown from the crowd and a barrage of 'monkey grunts', notably Mark Walters
Mark Walters
Mark Everton Walters is a retired professional footballer from Birmingham, England.-Aston Villa:Walters began his career as an apprentice at Aston Villa on leaving school in the summer of 1980, turning the professional a year later - just after Villa's Football League First Division title triumph...
of Rangers and Paul Elliott of Celtic." On 2 January 1988, Rangers winger Mark Walters made his debut in the Old Firm
Old Firm
The Old Firm is a common collective name for the association football clubs Celtic and Rangers, both based in Glasgow, Scotland.The origin of the term is unclear. One theory has it that the expression derives from Celtic's first game in 1888, which was played against Rangers. However, author,...
derby match at Celtic Park
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which is the home ground of Celtic FC. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832, is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford,...
. Rangers lost 2–0 and Walters was subjected to racist abuse from opposing Celtic fans who were caught on camera chanting like monkeys, throwing fruit, (mostly bananas) onto the pitch and dressing in monkey costumes. It was reported that Rangers fans used "implicit racism" on the same day by singing "I'd rather be a darkie than a Tim (Celtic Fan)". Although Celtic slammed the perpetrators, the Scottish Football Association
Scottish Football Association
The Scottish Football Association is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA include clubs in Scotland, affiliated national associations as well as local associations...
remained silent. According to Walters, he experienced even worse racial abuse in Edinburgh against Hearts
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
. Following racist abuse aimed at Walters, Rangers banned some of their own season ticket holders. Andrew Smith from The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
newspaper stated: "It is depressing to think that enforcement as much as enlightenment might account for Walters being the only black footballer in this country to have had bananas thrown at them."
Rangers captain Lorenzo Amoruso
Lorenzo Amoruso
Lorenzo Pier Luigi Amoruso is a former Italian Assocation footballer who played for seven teams during his footballing career but is perhaps best known for his six-year spell with Glasgow side Rangers...
issued a public apology after a match in December 1999 for making racist comments against Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
's Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n striker Victor Ikpeba
Victor Ikpeba
Victor Nosa Ikpeba is a former football forward from Nigeria. He has played thirty international matches and scored three goals for Nigeria, and played at the FIFA World Cups in 1994 and 1998...
. In March 2003, Rangers fans were accused of racially abusing Bobo Balde
Bobo Balde
Dianbobo "Bobo" Baldé is a Guinean footballer who currently plays for AC Arles-Avignon. He has previously played for Mulhouse, AS Cannes, Toulouse, Celtic and Valenciennes...
and Momo Sylla. Rangers chairman John McClelland stated that ""There was such a crescendo during Saturday's match although I thought I heard noises of this kind I can't be 100% sure." In May 2004, Marvin Andrews
Marvin Andrews
Marvin Andrews is a Trinidadian football defender. He currently plays for Scottish Junior Club side Kirkintilloch Rob Roy....
condemned racism from some Rangers fans.
In November 2004, then manager of Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
Martin O'Neill suggested Neil Lennon was the subject of chants of a "racial and sectarian manner".
During a 2007 Scottish Cup tie, St. Johnstone player Jason Scotland
Jason Scotland
Jason Kelvin Scotland is a Trinidadian footballer who plays for Ipswich Town as a striker.Scotland started his footballing career in Trinidad and Tobago before moving to play professionally for Scottish club Dundee United. He has also had spells with St...
was the target of racist taunts by a handful of Motherwell
Motherwell F.C.
Motherwell Football & Athletic Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The club compete in the Scottish Premier League and are one of only seven teams to have remained in this league since it was founded in 1998...
fans. The offenders were promptly reprimanded by the spectators around them and were reported to police and match stewards. Motherwell chairman John Boyle
John Boyle (footballer)
John Boyle is a retired Scottish footballer who played during the 1960s and 1970s.Born in Motherwell, he signed for London side Chelsea as a 15-year-old whilst on holiday in the city. Boyle was one of the lesser-known, but nevertheless important, members of the successful Chelsea side of the...
later issued an apology on behalf of the club. Motherwell were to court further controversy on 3 September 2007 when Laryea Kingston
Laryea Kingston
Laryea Kingston is a Ghanaian professional footballer, who is currently playing for Israeli Premier League club Hapoel Be'er Sheva in Israel...
of Hearts was abused, although Motherwell refuted the claims.
In October 2009, Rangers player Maurice Edu
Maurice Edu
Maurice Edu is an American soccer player who plays for Rangers in the Scottish Premier League and the United States national team.- Early life :...
said he was racially abused by some Rangers fans while leaving Ibrox
Ibrox Stadium
Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium located on the south side of the River Clyde, on Edmiston Drive in the Ibrox district of Glasgow. It is the home ground of Scottish Premier League club Rangers and has an all-seated capacity of 51,082...
after a UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
defeat by Unirea Urziceni. Edu wrote on Twitter: "Not sure what hurt more: result or being racially abused by couple of our own fans as I'm getting in my car."
Three Scottish judges ruled in June 2009 that The Famine song
Famine song
The Famine Song is a derogatory song sung by Rangers fans, mainly to insult Celtic supporters. Set to the tune of Sloop John B by The Beach Boys, the song was first heard in 2008.-Controversy:...
is racist because it targets people of Irish origin. George Peat, President of the Scottish Football Association
Scottish Football Association
The Scottish Football Association is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA include clubs in Scotland, affiliated national associations as well as local associations...
, has suggested that the song causes embarrassment for Scottish football and should be stamped out. Peat has also stated that the SFA is determined to contribute to the eradication of offensive songs from Scottish football. In November 2008, a Rangers fan was found guilty of a breach of the peace (aggravated by religious and racial prejudice) for singing The Famine Song during a game against Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
. It was widely reported after an Old Firm
Old Firm
The Old Firm is a common collective name for the association football clubs Celtic and Rangers, both based in Glasgow, Scotland.The origin of the term is unclear. One theory has it that the expression derives from Celtic's first game in 1888, which was played against Rangers. However, author,...
game in February 2009 that Rangers fans had sung The Famine Song at Celtic Park
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which is the home ground of Celtic FC. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832, is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford,...
. The Famine Song was also sung in March 2011 at a Scottish football game by Rangers fans, nevertheless, Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill described the match as a "great advert for Scottish football."
The Herald journalist Doug Gillon has written that "the sectarian intolerance which divides Scottish society [...] is rooted in anti-Irish racism."
In February 2011, in an Old Firm
Old Firm
The Old Firm is a common collective name for the association football clubs Celtic and Rangers, both based in Glasgow, Scotland.The origin of the term is unclear. One theory has it that the expression derives from Celtic's first game in 1888, which was played against Rangers. However, author,...
match at Celtic Park
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which is the home ground of Celtic FC. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832, is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford,...
a Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
supporter was caught mocking black Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
player El Hadji Diouf
El Hadji Diouf
El Hadji Ousseynou Diouf is a Senegalese footballer who currently plays for Doncaster Rovers. He can play on both wings as well as in attack. He has also garnered a large amount of notoriety for a series of controversial incidents.-Early career:Diouf started his career in France with...
with monkey noises and gestures as he was about to take a corner kick.
In April 2011, the Manager of Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
Neil Lennon received an explosive device in the post. Brian McNally described this as due to "anti-Catholic and anti-Irish racism". A number of high profile Celtic fans also were sent suspected explosive devices. Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party Annabel Goldie MSP described bullets sent to Neil Lennon and a number of Celtic players as “racism and sectarianism”. After an attempted assault on Neil Lennon at Hearts stadium Tynecastle, a motion against anti-Irish racism was lodged in the Scottish Parliament.
Israel
Israeli stadiums are not free from racism, and first racist incidents there took place in the 1970s, when Arab player Jimmy Turk joined Hapoel Tel Aviv. Turk was subjected to anti-Arab abuse during nearly every game he played. According to Itzik Shanan, director of communications at the New Israel FundNew Israel Fund
The New Israel Fund is a U.S. based non-profit organization established in 1979, and describes its objective as social justice and equality for all Israelis.-Ideology:...
, among most racist fans are supporters of Beitar Jerusalem, also Hapoel Tel Aviv fans have been using slogans promoting a Holocaust against Maccabi Tel Aviv. Israeli right wing football supporters taunt Arab players during games, especially those who play for the mixed Arab-Jewish team Bnei Sakhnin.
Under Israeli law, football fans can be prosecuted for incitement of racial hatred. The "New Voices from the Stadium" program, run by the New Israel Fund
New Israel Fund
The New Israel Fund is a U.S. based non-profit organization established in 1979, and describes its objective as social justice and equality for all Israelis.-Ideology:...
(NIF) amasses a "racism index" that is reported to the media on a weekly basis, and teams have been fined and punished for the conduct of their fans. According to Steve Rothman
Steve Rothman
Steven R. "Steve" Rothman is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life, education and career:Rothman attended Washington University Law School...
, the NIF San Francisco director, "Things have definitely improved, particularly in sensitizing people to the existence of racism in Israeli society." In 2006, Israel joined Football Against Racism in Europe
Football Against Racism in Europe
Football Against Racism in Europe is a network set up to counter "racism and xenophobia" in European Football. The network was set up in Vienna, Austria, in February 1999 after a meeting of football supporters' groups, football players' unions and football associations...
(FARE), a network set up to counter racism in football.
Mexico
In the first day of the Apertura 2006 tournament, the fans of Santos LagunaSantos Laguna
Club Santos Laguna is a Mexican football club. They represent the urban area of Comarca Lagunera, which is made up of Torreón, Gomez Palacio, and Lerdo. Santos Laguna currently plays in the Primera División. The club was founded in 1982, and reached Mexico's top division after buying the franchise...
made guttural sounds imitating a chimpanzee against the Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
nian player Felipe Baloy
Felipe Baloy
Felipe Abdiel Baloy Ramírez is a football defender who currently plays in Mexico for Primera División de México team Santos Laguna and is the current captain of the Panama national football team.-Early life:...
of Monterrey as he scored a goal. During the game, Santos Laguna's fans had also chanted other racial slurs towards Baloy, including chango (monkey) and come platano (banana eater). The disciplinary commission of the Mexican Football Federation sanctioned the Santos club to a sum equivalent of 5,600 days of league minimum wage for the racist insults.
United States
During a May 24, 2008 Major League SoccerMajor League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
game between the Columbus Crew
Columbus Crew
The Columbus Crew is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...
and the New England Revolution
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional association football club based in Foxborough, Massachusetts which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...
, Revolution forward Kheli Dube (originally from Zimbabwe) scored a goal against the Crew in the 89th minute of the game. An unidentified fan in the audience shouted out a racial slur. The incident was subsequently posted to the video sharing website YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, and MLS promised an investigation. In response to the epithet Revolution player Shalrie Joseph reportedly made an obscene gesture towards the offending fan. Assuming that MLS could have identified the fan, commisoner Don Garber
Don Garber
Donald Garber is the commissioner of Major League Soccer, CEO of Soccer United Marketing, and a member of the United States Soccer Federation board of directors. Garber has spent his entire career in the sports industry, working in a variety of capacities in marketing, television and league...
promised to ban him.
Argentina
On 14 April 2005, the QuilmesQuilmes Atlético Club
Quilmes Atlético Club is a sports clubs of Argentina, based on the Partido de Quilmes, Buenos Aires Province. Quilmes is one of the oldest clubs of Argentina, having been founded in 1887. Its football squad currently plays in the Primera B Nacional Division....
player Leandro Desabato
Leandro Desábato
Leandro Desábato , nicknamed Chavo, is an Argentine football defender who plays for Estudiantes de La Plata of the Argentine Primera División.-Club career:...
was arrested for racially abusing Grafite
Grafite
Edinaldo Batista Libânio , commonly known as Grafite is a Brazilian footballer who plays for UAE Football League club Al-Ahli Dubai....
, a black Brazilian player. He was held for 40 hours, and no charges were brought against the player after Grafite
Grafite
Edinaldo Batista Libânio , commonly known as Grafite is a Brazilian footballer who plays for UAE Football League club Al-Ahli Dubai....
decided not to press charges.
See also
- Football Against Racism in EuropeFootball Against Racism in EuropeFootball Against Racism in Europe is a network set up to counter "racism and xenophobia" in European Football. The network was set up in Vienna, Austria, in February 1999 after a meeting of football supporters' groups, football players' unions and football associations...
- Racism Breaks the GameRacism Breaks the GameRacism Breaks the Game was a three-day campaign in Romania designed to combat racism in association football, particularly against the Romani minority, as well as to "stimulate social dialogue and promote tolerance and fair-play through football"...
- Show Racism The Red CardShow Racism The Red CardShow Racism the Red Card is an anti-racism education charity, established in England in January 1996 to harness the high profile nature of footballers as anti-racist role models to educate against racism throughout society in the United Kingdom....
- Stand Up Speak UpStand Up Speak UpStand Up Speak Up is a Europe-wide campaign that was launched in January 2005 by the French Football player Thierry Henry following an increase in reports of racist incidents in football across Europe...