Racism in football: Is this a new business?

‘Racism’ in football is not a new term. In fact, it has gradually taken a form of business which is spreading all over the world. Philippines, Zambia, Belgium, France, Germany, England, Italy, Netherlands, Montenegro, Norway, Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Serbia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Sweden, Scotland, Spain, Argentina, Israel, Australia, Mexico and US, all these countries are the clear evidences of football racism.

In recent years, cases of racism in football have increased. Be it Luis Suarez- Patrice Evra case on October 15, 2011 in , when Suarez had used the word “negrito (Spanish word for little black man) for Patrice Evra, or Anton Ferdinand-John Terry case on 23 October in the same year, when Anton alleged racial abuse by John Terry, claiming that the Chelsea captain called him a “fucking black cunt” during the game, which was denied by Terry. On 20 November, Luis Suarez was fined £40,000 and banned for eight matches for racially abusing Evra, where in Anton-Terry case, in July, Terry was found guilty, banned for four games and was fined £40,000.

In January, an anti- racism action, as we can say, was taken by AC Milan midfielder Kevin Prince Boateng, when in a friendly match against lowly side Pro Patria, he kicked the ball towards the fans who were chanting ‘bu-bu’ towards him and walked away from the stadium with the rest of the team. It was not for the first that happened with him. He was caught before too by some fans in Turin when Milan went to play against Juventus. Later, Juventus were fined 30,000 euros for their mischievous action.

It is now important for UEFA to ban such actions by the fans. Kevin Boateng, after the Pro Patria incident, had spoken to FIFA.COM about his views on racism and said that it is a ‘shameful’ thing for the football fans. He later waved a banner post match on which it was clearly written- “STOP RACISM!!!” From early 90s we can see the racism actions happening in football, which are polluting the sporty environment of the beautiful game.

Until now, UEFA has dealt somewhat perfectly, but not satisfactory, in these cases. If we talk about Boateng’s case, Italian Football Association’s president Abete declared the incident as “intolerable”, but no action was taken from UEFA. But mostly or we can say in the end, the governing body (UEFA) have fined all the clubs or federations for the misconduction by their fans. They really need to take some serious actions over this issue. Premier League and FA authorities have started a movement called “KickItOut”. Its aim is to stop the rise of racism in football, especially on the grounds or from the stands. Some players have started wearing its T-shirts, supporting the campaign, urging people to support so. But it is not yet successful in achieving its aim.

We are living in a society where someone’s colour, origin, race, caste or religion doesn’t matter, and when it comes to any sport, then surely not. The main thing that should matter in the sport is sportsmanship, one’s dedication, determination and loyalty towards his/her team. In my view, people who give support to such crime should be banned for lifetime so that they can never spoil the beautiful game. Also, those who create racist chants should also be banned and punished hardly for this offence. The authorities should not let them enter the grounds and should place CCTV cameras so that they can catch the offenders easily and within no time. Also, there should be more than 50 patrolling stands in the ground. Just because of few audiences, everyone has to suffer, as they feel uncomfortable. The FA should arrest all these kind of persons when they find them doing so, and should give them the hardest punishment they can, in order to remove the word “RACISM” from the beautiful game.