As the most popular sport worldwide, football draws millions of international fans. Its popularity also means players hail from various nations, ethnicities, and cultures. While team sports are intended to be an entertaining sight for everybody, players of colour are frequently subjected to racial discrimination on and off the field.
During games and on social media, numerous players of colour are subjected to racial slurs. Although they have attempted to ignore the harassment This tutorial will briefly examine the problem of Racism in Football.
How does racism affect football?
Racism takes various forms in football, some more blatant than others, but with the same intent: to discriminate against a person of a different race. Racism has happened between fans and players, between players and other players, and between sports commentators and players. Racism in football occurs before kick-off, during the game itself – when a specific player scores or misses a shot – and on social media after the game.
Who are the targets?
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Black football players are disproportionately subjected to racism in the sport. Many high-profile incidents have been reported, and many more are believed to have gone unreported.
- Aubameyang, who plays for Arsenal F.C., was mistreated because of his race during a 2018 game against Tottenham Hotspur F.C. This happened without anyone saying a word. When Aubameyang ran onto the field to celebrate an Arsenal goal, an angry fan threw a banana peel at him.
- After losing the UEFA Euro 2021 final, England’s players were subjected to racial slurs.
- In August 2019, a football fan was arrested and charged with racially/religiously aggravated deliberate harassment after altering and retweeting images of Mohamed Salah that represented him as a terrorist.
What steps are needed for Racism in Football?
Although the present programs can serve as steppingstones toward racial equality, much more must be done globally to eradicate racism in football. The most prominent social media platforms must also take action to protect users from online harassment and penalize those who target them with long-term bans.
The governing bodies of football are also at blame since their sanctions are uneven and don’t provide enough long-term fixes to eradicate racism from the sport after the sanction period. For football to continue being the international sport that unites people, fans and pundits must educate themselves about racial prejudice and make sure that they actively engage in, support, and advocate for, racial conversation.
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