“Football is a game of passion, not an avenue for racist chants.The price that racist won was my expulsion; I want actions and punishments, hastags don’t move me.” – Vinicius Junior.
Racism is defined as the belief that one race is superior to another, or that a person’s characteristics and abilities are determine by their race. Racism can manifest itself in different ways, including individual and systemic discrimination, prejudice and violence, its important to note that racism is not just about skin color- It can also involve prejudice based on ethnicity, nationality and culture.
Racism in football has taken many forms over the years, from fans shouting racial abuse at players during matches, to players being racially abused on social media, to incidents of racism by players themselves.
It is also important to note that racism in football is not just limited to players-referees, coaches and other people associated with the game have also being targeted by racism. While there have been efforts to combat racism in football, including anti-racism campaigns, punishments for club and players found guilty of racism, and education initiatives, the problem persists.
Racism can take different forms, some of which are; fans abuse of players during matches, this is one of the most visible form of racism in football and can have a huge impact on the players who are subjected to it. In other cases, fans have shouted racial slurs at players or held up banner with racist messages.
Others include fans throwing banana on the pitch, a common form of racist abuse that is meant to dehumanize black players. These kind of acts can be extremely upsetting for the players who are subjected to it, and can have a lasting impact on their mental health.
It is important to note that both African and non African footballers has being racially abuse, in this write up, I will take you through the run down of well known footballers who has being racially abused and their reactions to it.
Romelu Bolignoli Lukaku
Inter Milan target’s man, Romelu Lukaku on loan from Chelsea was targeted by disgusting racist abuse before he was sent off for celebrating scoring against Juventus in the copa Italia semi-final first leg in May earlier this year. Lukaku scored a stoppage time penalty which secured inter’s draw with the Turin based team but was then shown a yellow card after the Belgian striker out a finger to his lips in front of the home supporters who were shouting “f***ink monkey and f**k off” to the Inter Milan’s number 90.
Reacting to the referee’s decision on lukaku’s action, Michael Yormark, president of rocnation sport international said “The Italian authorities must use this opportunity to tackle racism, rather than punish the victim of the abuse”. He also said that “Romelu deserves an apology from Juventus and I expect the league to condemn the behavior of the group of Juventus fans immediately”.
The Italian league also issued a statement in which Lukaku was not mentioned, but said that “It strongly condemn every episode of racism and every form of discrimination, a few people in the stands cannot ruin the soccer show and don’t represent the thoughts of all the fans,” the league said.
Lukaku himself added on Instagram “History repeats. Been through it in 2019.. and 2023 again… I hope the league really take actions for real this time because this beautiful game should be enjoyed by everyone.
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang
Gabonese striker and former Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal and Chelsea Hitman Aubameyang was racially abused on 2nd December, 2018 during Arsenal’s 4-2 win over city rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates stadium when a Spurs fan threw a banana skin at him. Replying to the racists abuse on 2nd December 2018, after the match Aubameyang posted the image of him in front of the banana skin on Instagram with the hastags ‘whysmandoingthis’?.
Reacting to the incident Tottenham head coach (presently at Chelsea), Mauricio Pochettino said ” For me it (racism) is the worst thing in the world and that is why I am completely against this behavior. I don’t want to be populist- I don’t care whether it is our fans, or other fans, I want to kill ( the bad behavior and racism). For me, it is like this. Our responsibility is to be like this”.
Also reacting to a social media post showing Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly being racially abused during Arsenal and Napoli Europa league clash on 11th April, 2019. Aubameyang said
” I had the same problem here against Tottenham, when you are black like me it is really painful, I think, because we are in 2019 and obviously it is not good for football in England. Hopefully we will find a way to kick it out”.
In the same interview with standard sports about the issue of racism in English football, He said ” I am really disappointed about that”.
Vinicius Junior
On the 21st of May 2023, Real Madrid Brazilian forward, Vinicius Junior was subjected to persistent racists abuse during his teams 1-0 loss to Valencia at Mestalla stadium in Spain’s laliga. The flashpoint in the game came in the second half, where after a stoppage in play, an animated Vinicius pointed out at a fan in the stands for the abuse before engaging with the supporters in the section of the crowd in question. In the 73rd minutes a spectator from Mario kempes Tribune directed himself towards the number 20 of Real Madrid CF, Vinicius Jose de Oliveira do Nascimiento screaming at him, ‘monkey, monkey’.
Vinicius was sent off in the final minutes of the games for his involvement in an altercation with Valencia player Hugo Duro.
Reacting to the incident, real Madrid’s Italian manager, Carlo Ancelloti has told movistar plus after the game saying ” I don’t want to talk about football today…. When a whole stadium is chanting ‘monkey’ at a player and the manager has to think about taking off a player because of it, there is something bad happening in this league”.
On his personal Instagram account, Vinicius Junior posted a story saying ” The price that racists won was my expulsion! This isn’t football, this is @Laliga”.
In a response to a tweet by laliga president Javier Tebas telling Vinicius to ‘inform’ himself on laliga’s jurisdiction and role in racism cases and chiding him for twice not meeting with him to discuss the matter. The Brazilian said ” once again, instead of criticizing racists, the president of Laliga shows up on social media to attack me…. I am not your friend to talk with about racism. I want actions and punishments. Hastags don’t move me”.
As a sign of discontentment to Ancelloti saying the the whole stadium was chanting ‘monkey’
The club spokesperson said, Valencia CF can’t tolerate someone accusing our fans of being racist, we strongly reject Anceloti’s comments”.
Mario Balotelli
One other case of a player being racially abused occurred in 2013 when Mario Balotelli, a black Italian footballer, was subjected to racist abuse by fans during a match. Balotelli was targeted with monkey chants and other racial slurs, and the referee had to briefly stop the match to try to address the situation.
There still exists a host of players who had one time being victims of racial abuse in one way or the other. Footballers such as Sadio Mane, Kylian Mbappe, Kingsley Coleman, Randall Kolo Muani and Aurelien Tchouameni, unfortunately all these players are of African descent.
As racism continues to persists despite the different measures in place, I think more grievous and punishable offence should be awarded to the law breakers, serving as a deterrent to many others who had the same motive of racially abusing players, punishments as fines, stadium walkout, stadium bans, points deduction and games played behind closed doors.
Apart from the above punishments, football governing body is such as English FA, UEFA, FIFA etc have set up bodies to see to the issue of racism in the sport, some of which are:
• The FARE Network ( Formerly Known As Football Against Racism In Europe) is located in London, England and established in Vienna, Austria in February 1999. It was set up to counter discrimination in European football after a meeting of football supporters’ groups, football players’ unions and football associations. The network has received backing from the European football governing body UEFA, world football governing body FIFA and the European commission for its aims.
• No Room For Racism Action Plan
It was launched in February 2021 and underpinned by the six commitments that includes; execute pathways, coaching pathways, players pathways, supporting communities, action against racism, embedding equality.
• Kick It Out (Tackling Racism and Discrimination)
It was set up as a campaign with the brand-name ” Let’s kick racism out of football” in 1993 and as an organization in 1997. The organization works within football, educational and community sectors to challenge discrimination, encourage inclusive practices and work for positive change. It is located in England, United kingdom.
It is supported and funded by the game’s governing body the professional footballers association (PFA), the premier league and the football association (FA).
In conclusion, the following will be invaluable in going a long way to eradicating racism to the barest minimum in football and providing a fair environment for all; educational and awareness programmes, enforcement of anti discrimination policies, efforts to diversify the sport, creating an environment where everyone feels welcome and respected regardless of their race, ethnicity or nationality.
Lastly, the use of power of the media and marketing to promote positive messages about diversity and inclusion in football.
– Samuel Alabuja
Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba.
