Racism in Football will Never Go Away
Racism in football will never go away.
Context
What happened in the game?
Tuesday, December 8th kicked off the final round of UEFA Champions League group stage games. Most of the focus, from a British football perspective at least, was on the RB Leipzig vs Manchester United game, with United only needing a point to make it through to the last 16. However, 13 minutes in, and 2-0 down, Manchester United’s hope of making it through to the next round was all but over. Unfortunately, the footballing focus not just in this country but around the world shifted to events that were taking place in the PSG vs Başakşehir game, as reports of alleged racism occurred during the game. This sparked protest from the Başakşehir players as their assistant coach Pierre Webó was given a red card in the 16th minute of the game, video footage would later show that Webó was accusing a UEFA match official of using racist language against him. The protest continued from the Turkish club, with support from PSG players and staff as the game momentarily stopped. However, as frustration continued to grow the Başakşehir players decided to walk off the pitch and in a show of solidarity, the PSG players followed.
Why this is a unique case?
Racism in football is nothing new, it's one of the first topics we covered when the sports section was introduced to the magazine this year. In fact, this incident comes a couple days after Millwall fans booed the pre-match knee that has been present in English football since project restart following the BLM movement earlier on in the year. What makes this case more unique is the fact that the alleged racism came from a UEFA match official. The primary job description of any official is to be unbiased towards teams and players in any way. That standard is held even higher in Europe's premier competition. As football fans, we've become used to racism being present amongst fans and footballers. Still, we’ve never been exposed to racism from match officials towards players. For me, this has shattered the level of trust I have in referees to do their job, which is a shame because this is a stand-alone incident, however, that door is now open.
Often, there is a debate as to what the right protocol should be if incidents of racism occur during a football game. As I have mentioned, usually racist acts come from groups of fans who might make monkey noises or throw banana peels towards black and minority ethnic players. For this, UEFA has a three-step process.
"Stop the match and instruct the stadium authorities to read out an announcement, calling upon the spectators to stop the discriminatory behaviour."
"If this announcement does not have the desired effect, make another announcement, suspend the match and send the players to their dressing rooms for a specific period."
After consultation, abandon the match if the discriminatory behaviour still does not cease or breaks out again.
Though, some players take it upon themselves to walk off the pitch and avoid any further abuse. Some argue that this is not the right approach as it gives power to the abusers and the best way to react is to ignore and continue playing the game. However, my response to that as a minority in Western society is, one of the standout lessons our parents teach us is to develop a thick skin and ignore what people may say about the colour of our skin, as we grow, we continue to let things slide to a point whereby we're numb to the abuse. Meanwhile, those who subject us to the abuse are unaware of the things they do.
I say this to point out that if a player decides to walk off the pitch, they are well within their rights to do so. They do not owe the fans anything and nor should they be punished with a yellow or red card. It gave me so much pride to see both sets of players walk off during the game on Tuesday; it reminded me of Carlo Ancelotti's quote "football is the most important of the less important things in the world", and that certainly was the case then.
2. UEFA
UEFA have said that they will investigate the incident further, however, the terms and the length of the investigation are yet to determined. There is pressure on UEFA to take considerable action due to their "NO TO RACISM" campaigns. Regular spectators of Champions League football will be familiar with the adverts that show on Champions League matchdays, starring the worlds most prominent players in an effort to unite society through football. It's left to be seen if this campaign is just that… a campaign. A performative PR tool for UEFA to show they’re against racial discrimination or a statement that they fully support and act upon.
Sadly, history suggests UEFA will not act appropriately, the most severe fine they've handed out was £65,000 to Bulgaria men's national team, after their fans racially abused England players in Euro 2020 qualifying game on October 14th, 2019. If the match official is found guilty, I personally would love to see UEFA hand out a sizeable fine to this individual and suspend him from officiating for a few years at all levels of football, as a bare minimum. However, what I think UEFA will do is hand out a fine and suspend the official from the game for a few months to a year ready for the 2021/2022 season.
Whatever the outcome may be, I am personally tired of this constant cycle that appears every few months. A process that includes, an act of racism or other forms of discrimination, the footballing world talking about what can be done to solve it, waiting for football's governing bodies to give their verdict before football moves on. Until serious action and punishment are implemented for these instances, discrimination will continue to plague football. The discussion used to be, there needs to be more awareness in the sport, but, given what's happened this year, race-related issues have never been more present or highlighted in broader society.
So, if awareness isn’t the answer, what is? In my opinion, if fans, players and now match officials are found guilty of discriminatory behaviour, that should be them removed from the game. It would be more impactful if players were given lifetime bans from the professional game, as opposed to a lengthy suspension and fine, similar to what Luis Suarez received in 2011/12. Not only would a lifetime ban impact the player, but it would also send a message to other professionals and aspiring players, that football’s governing bodies have a zero-tolerance. In the case of discriminatory fans, again lifetime bans handed out to the supports who are found to be guilty of being prejudiced. I would also build on that by disqualifying the teams they support from participating in competitions and tournaments for some time. So in Bulgaria’s case, as an example, this would mean preventing them from qualifying for the next World cup and Euro’s. I believe this is the only effective way to remove racism from football. Yes, it may be extreme but, if the likes of UEFA and FIFA are serious about anti-racism (and all forms of discrimination), they need to do more. The fines are not working to prevent these reoccurring instances! I understand that racism is a societal issue built upon hundreds of years of institutional oppression, and the process required to remove discrimination from society will take some time. However, it should be easier to remove racists from the professional game compared to removing them from society.
As for now, the focus is on UEFA. We have to wait and see what they do.
Written by SuNom Bawa
Hi, I'm SuNom. Born in Nigeria and raised in the UK. I studied Economics at undergrad and Political Economy at Masters level. My interests vary and I hope you like them as much as I do.