Racist chants reverberated around a football stadium in Sofia this month when England and Bulgaria played a Euro 2020 qualifying match. Bulgarian supporters directed monkey chants and Nazi salutes at England’s black players.
It is a sad reality that such ugly scenes are far from confined to Bulgaria. The Haringey Borough team from north London walked off the pitch last week after they were racially abused during an English FA cup tie with Yeovil Town. Raheem Sterling of Manchester City, one of the stars of English football, was on the receiving end of racist abuse from Chelsea supporters. Similar incidents have taken place in Russia, where supporters of Zenit St Petersburg abused their new signing, Brazilian winger Malcom, displaying banners declaring that “the absence of black players is an important tradition.” And in different though equally repulsive manifestations, racist behaviour can be witnessed throughout eastern and southern Europe. Stadium closures, fines on clubs and countries, racist “fans” banned for life and campaigns against the phenomenon have barely scratched the surface of eradicating racism, xenophobia and far-right extremism from football.
There is no magic wand to rid sport of racism, just as there is none to eliminate it from society. The tragic reality is that the bigotry we witness in football games is what ethnic and religious minorities experience everywhere and every day. It is a manifestation not only of the prevalence of racist abuse, but also of how it is tolerated by wider circles within society; of the prevailing prejudices against minorities, of the discrimination that takes place daily against Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people (BAME) in the workplace, in schools, in government offices and everywhere else, and of the insufficient degree to which those on the receiving end are protected by the law. On all of these accounts, most societies, even the most progressive, are failing their minorities, and by that fail themselves.
Staying with football, despite the fact that many of its players are from ethnic minorities, of the 92 managers in the English professional leagues only five are black, and all operate in the lower divisions. Coincidence? Of course not. It is the symptom of an underlying bias. But why are we surprised when racism, a cancer that destroys the healthy cells of a society, is all too evident around us, yet out of shame, tacit consent or reluctance to address it, we choose to ignore it?
There is no magic wand to rid sport of racism, just as there is none to eliminate it from society. The tragic reality is that the bigotry we witness in football games is what ethnic and religious minorities experience everywhere and every day.
An EU survey in member states suggests that about a third of people of African descent experience racist harassment and violence, from the police as well as the public. Racist harassment takes the form of offensive non-verbal behavior, or offensive or threatening comments, which may be followed by threats of violence. Worse, most of those on the receiving end are either too afraid, or don’t trust any authority or institution, to report it to them. Those who experience racism are those who are most needed for their insight, to help the rest of us understand the devastating impact it has on them and society as a whole. Eradicating or at least minimizing racism won’t be possible until a safe climate is created for people who experience it to talk about it, and to feel they can safely resort to law if necessary.
In other words, football racism is a mirror of our societies, perhaps appearing more crass and more in-your-face when broadcast live and uncensored and exposed in its full ugliness. But for many BAME people, what they see at football matches is a microcosm of their daily lives. The international football authorities’ response to racism has always been slow, and pathetic in its leniency to offenders, but it is the broader societies that needs to be fixed first.
One of the first steps is to admit that despite considerable progress, racism and prejudice exists in individuals, groups and institutions. Worse, it is being exacerbated in the current age of growing nationalism, xenophobia and populist politicians who exploit it to divide society, while social media makes the spread of race hatred too easy.
Reversing this trend requires that we expand the discourse of equality at all levels of education and training, a discourse that must confront all signs and degrees of racism; and include equally important legal and disciplinary processes that show zero tolerance of it in any form, in any medium and by anyone. No excuses, no buts!
- Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations at Regent’s University London, where he is head of the International Relations and Social Sciences Program. He is also an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. He is a regular contributor to the international written and electronic media. Twitter: @YMekelberg
