How are European leagues reacting to racism in sport?

fighting against racism on the sports fields, he came back to the fore after the insults directed at the Brazilian player Real Madrid Vinicius in Valencia. It is a problem that is reproduced to a greater or lesser extent on a global scale and which has forced many countries to take far-reaching measures and legislation in this sense. These are some of the decisions made to combat it:

Spain

Sanctions and punishments provided in cases of hate crimes can be administratively, via Law against violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sportswhich was applied by the State Commission for Suppression of Violence, and by means of criminal law applying Article 510 of the Criminal Code, which punishes hate crimes from one to four years in prison.

England

Racism towards players has immediate consequences: ejection from the stadium and prison sentence. The latest example is Antonio Neill, a 24-year-old who sent a racist message to a player on social media and received a four-month prison sentence, suspended for two years if he does not repeat the crime, and three years without the ability to attend any football stadium in the country.

The insults of players have increased in recent years on social networks, and they do not stop even on various sports fields, where one of the most famous cases happened in 2018 at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea’s ground, when one of the six accused of racist insults towards Raheem Sterling one received a lifetime ban, and the other five received sentences of one to two years without the possibility of going on the field.

Italy

Italy’s Law on Sports Justice includes sanctions for racist acts. A player who participates in this may be disqualified for at least ten days or, in more serious cases, yes permanent disqualification. Sanctions are foreseen for both managers and fans, with a note that the responsibility for chants, banners and other manifestations of this kind rests entirely with the club.

In addition, Serie A launched the “Keep Racism Out” initiative two seasons ago, an anti-discrimination campaign promoted in collaboration with UNAR (National Office for Combating Racial Discrimination at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers) to put an end to this practice. stadiums through various activities that also include the youth sector.

France

The French Football Association raised its voice after the last World Cup and decided to go to court over racist insults against many of its players on social media after the defeat in the final of the last World Cup. Among the latest decisions in the fight against this scourge is the elimination of Montereau, a modest team whose fans insulted the players of rival Palaiseau in a match for the French Cup.

Germany

The fight against racism in stadiums takes place at different levels: between the clubs themselves, at the level of preventive campaigns among fans and above all in the German Football Association. The authority in case of incidents on the playing field rests with the referee, who is responsible for applying the so-called “three-step rules” — warning, stoppage of play for a few minutes and finally stoppage of the match, if the situation persists.

The following measures correspond to the Arbitration Commission, which can dictate sanctions against those responsible for the stadium or club owners. In the 2021-2022 season. more than 900 matches were suspended in various categories — including football amateur or youth categories—for racist incidents.

Portugal

To alleviate this problem, the Portuguese Football Federation has changed its regulations for next season and now recognizes more illegal behavior in stadiums, with greater fines for clubs if their fans insult a player or the public because of their gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation, among others. It is also stipulated that the first offence will be finedthe second will impose a higher amount and between 1 and 3 matches of the viewing ban, and in the third and subsequent matches 2 to 5 matches behind closed doors are foreseen, with a new increase in the economic penalty.

Belgium

Belgian football has seen notorious racist episodes in recent years that have led to sanctions and partial stadium closures. “The problem is acute, we are in an unfortunate situation,” admitted last January the Disciplinary Council of the Belgian Football Association, which by the middle of this season, he had opened 98 files for racism, after 153 last season.

That body asked to increase the number of referees and assign more staff to investigate these cases, not only in the professional field but also in the lower categories, since 40% of the attacks refer to youth football. Two years ago, the Federation launched a plan for inclusivity and last March launched an impressive campaign with a video in which a tattoo artist engraves the word “macaco” on a child’s face to emphasize that racism and homophobia can “mark a person’s life forever”, and set up a website a site where young people can register without fear of retribution.

Netherlands

The Dutch football association KNVB introduced about twenty measures divided into three pillars: prevention, identification and sanctions, such as doubling the 10-year ban on access to stadiums; the appointment of two special anti-discrimination prosecutors, one for football amateur and others for professionals; and the introduction of an app that allows fans to report racism in the stands or online.

This is part of a plan known as “Our football is for everyone” (Ons Voetbal Is Van Iedereen), created by the Dutch government and the Eredivisie, which includes a pilot program in stadiums such as Utrecht, Feyenoord or PSV to combat racist shouts with the help of smart technology, which should provide audiovisual material that would help identify the perpetrators.

Swiss

In Switzerland, racism is also present on the fields of the most popular sports, especially in football stadiums, where groups of ultra fans are numerous and very violent. This forced the Swiss Football Association (AFS). organize training workshops to sensitize players and coaches of the Swiss league on this issue.

Greece

In Greece, football has suffered for years from high levels of violence, perpetrated by fans organized into far-right groups, costing several FIFA fines for racist behavior by its fans, even during its national team’s matches. The various governments of Greece and the Hellenic Football Association In recent years, they have not been able to take concrete measures against racism.

Croatia

In October 2022, the Croatian Football Association (HNS) decided to step up its fight against racism by investing more money in preventive measures and launching campaigns in cooperation with clubs and television stations with broadcast rights against racism and unacceptable behavior on the field. stadiums.

To promote tolerance and inclusion, In March of this year, HNS signed agreements with representatives of Roma and Jewish organizations on action against anti-Semitism and discrimination against Roma..

Serbian

In Serbia, the Law on Sports prohibits any form of expression of racism, hatred or hostility on ethnic or nationalistic grounds. Display banners or other items that promote racism is punished with a fine of up to 17,000 euros. Nationalist insults based on ethnic origin in the Balkans, whether against Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks or Albanians, are increasingly common in the country, as a legacy of the civil wars in the region in the 1990s and feelings of hatred that still exist in some. circles.

Russia

Certain measures have been taken in Russia, such as a permanent ban on entering the stadium for a Zenit fan from St. Petersburg who threw a banana at the Brazilian Robert Carlos, which also resulted in a $10,000 fine for the team. In addition, in 2013, UEFA closed a section of CSKA’s stadium overlooking a Champions League group stage match after a player denounced “racist chants” during a match played in Moscow.