It’s an age old argument, one that has become more amplified in recent months with documentaries and findings, as well as the Luis Suarez incident and John Terry being accused of racism and bringing the game into disrepute. Racism has always been a problem in football, yet it has been heavily marginalised and overt racism (at least in this country) in the stands has all but vanished totally. So why are there now greater fears about the welfare of players on the pitch who could be potential targets for racist abuse.
It would not be fair to target, in this article, areas that are notorious for racist football fans, because that is, in itself, racial profiling. However, there were huge fears about the European championships this summer gone in Poland and Ukraine. This was exacerbated by a Panorama documentary, as well as ‘Is Football Racist?’ a documentary by PFA chairman, Clarke Carlisle, who has done fantastic work already in his role. Fortunately, the tournament proved to be an unqualified success, both on and off the pitch. So for a while at least, the cynics were proved wrong and those with negative experiences from the terrace culture of the 70s and 80s were silenced. Even the ongoing Terry/Ferdinand saga couldn’t dampen the spirits.
There will always be incidents that bring the cynics back, last night’s under-21 international, Serbia U21 vs England U21 is certainly no exception. The game in Krusevac was marred when Connor Wickham’s 94th minute winner led to scuffles on the pitch as fans ran on the pitch. More significantly, a number of black players, particularly Danny Rose, said they were subject to monkey chants, as well as having missiles launched at them. Rose was sent off after full time of kicking a ball into the crowd, which confused many back home, considering the levels of abuse he suffered.
So is UEFA doing enough to combat this ongoing struggle? If the levels of racism in Poland and Ukraine were as bad as people feared, then you would have to say they have done an admirable job. Following this incident, the aforementioned PFA and Clarke Carlisle in particular have called for Serbia to be banned from international competition, which the Kick It Out Campaign have echoed. Similarly, UEFA president Michel Platini has condemned any form of racism in football, however he has been accused of a somewhat laissez-faire attitude in the past with this problem.
Racism itself is a difficult issue and must be dealt with articulately so as to avoid misinterpretation. The debate rages on about it, because, to simply categorise football as a racist game undermines the work FIFA and UEFA do to combat this ongoing problem. So how can we stop repeat offenders from such heinous abuse from the stands. In the 21st century, eradicating this problem should be a formality, even if there have been huge steps to erase the problem altogether.
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