Serie A racism - what more can be done to curb and eliminate it?

Belgian international striker Romelu Lukaku, currently of Inter Milan and formerly of Manchester United, Everton, Chelsea, and Anderlecht, was on the receiving end of racial abuse by Cagliari fans in a recent Serie A match.

As a recently arrived player in the Italian top division, he has been the point of scrutiny concerning a long-standing issue in Calcio Italiano.

After a mixed time at United, Lukaku seems to have found his groove and has been scoring freely at Inter and thus his success has seen him become a target of hate. He also was abused by an Italian TV pundit, who said the best way to stop his progress at Inter was to throw bananas at him.

This isn’t the first instance of racial abuse featuring players of colour in Italy. And in all honsety, this applies in many other European countries too.

In England, Raheem Sterling was subjected to abuse at Chelsea, during a Premier League game in the 18/19 season. Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had a banana skin thrown at him in a game against fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the same season as Sterling.

So it is a problem prevalent in various European leagues. Such instances though in Italy tend to be more flagrant. These acts seemingly were condoned (indirectly) by an Inter fan group.

What can be done though to curb this? What measures can be taken to ensure such incidents are not repeated? Talk has emanated of bans, or games played behind closed doors.

Former England international John Barnes, who suffered horrific racist incidents in his own heyday, has on multiple occassions said that racism is a societal issue and that stemming racism is rooted ultimately in societal change.

This rings true. Football is a part of society and people will bring in their own views held in common discourse. Whilst football cannot alter society completely, it can try to get its own house in order for starters.

It can ensure that the football stadium is a place where players, fans, coaches, and all participants can be respected for who they are without being subjected to continual abuse.

Raheem Sterling has reached a world-class level whilst winning with Manchester City and in many ways is echoing John Barnes in his elevation to the heights amidst racial harassment.

Clearly more needs to be done to eliminate such behaviour. Here are a few ways racism can be tackled and stopped for the betterment of football.

Points deductions for clubs

Juventus had their points stripped and were relegated to Serie B during the Calciopoli scandal in 2006.

If clubs have fans continually making racist gestures, comments, or physical abuse, they should have their points deducted.

This can have a direct impact on their competitiveness and mean lesser of chance to land league titles, UEFA competition qualification spots and increase the chances of relegation.

A lesser likelihood of success means reduced revenues incoming. This is critical for contemporary football clubs’ operations - with a prime impact on player wages, transfer fees, and ultimately, the quality of players.

Cagliari isn’t a big club and not on the par traditionally of Juventus, Inter or AC Milan. So, the threat of a potential relegation to Serie B could make a huge dent in their coffers, given its comparatively smaller size.

It may seem harsh but certainly would provide incentives for clubs to get their act together with regard to racism.

Financial penalties

Lazio was fined for racist behaviour in a match against Tottenham Hotspurs.

Another option is to present mandatory fines for clubs allowing and indulging in racism.

Akin to points deductions, the results are similar in this case. It would further lend to the financial nature of the contemporary game, hitting clubs were it hurts most.

Fines are often derided in terms of their paltry nature, in comparison to overall incomes.

Fines of €20,000 are a small proportion of general expenditures for most clubs, let alone incomes. Perhaps fines with higher amounts need to be imposed to get the point across more effectively. Lazio and Shakhtar Donetsk were fined for racist behaviour by UEFA in earlier in 2019.

If a club had to give a section of its revenue to a charitable body or even pay a higher tax rate, then it could play a role in limiting such activities.

Moreover, it would mean a club couldn't progress to the degree required. For a large club, this would mean not being able to attract top players or affording their acquistions at the least if fines had an actual hit on their financial capabilities.

UEFA competition bans

If clubs with excessive racism are barred from the Champions League, it would be a major hit to their finances and progress

The primary point of any sport is to compete and win. It's why there is such dedication in training, and honing and perfecting skills. Sport is ultimately about being the best, and using everything required to succeed. To prove that one is the best, one needs to compete at the highest echelon. For European clubs, that is UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

If the oppurtunity to compete at the highest level is denied, it could be an effective sanction for any club with excessive racist incidents. This again will be a blow for revenue and exposure, forcing clubs to improve their stance or be left out.

The amount of money and exposure generated from being in UEFA's European competitions are ever-increasing - and it would be a severe hit if any club is barred from participating in them for this reason alone.

Top players wouldn't want to join clubs that aren't at the highest levels. So it should, in theory at the least, spur clubs into taking positive action.

Anti-racism campaigns

The Premier League's No Room For Racism campaign has played a huge part in reducing such incidents in England.

Some of the previously mentioned measures may appear draconian but existing measures have clearly not been able to halt racism properly.

The football authorities seemingly are interested in ceasing racism in their sport. One way to tackle the issue is through anti-racism campaigns.

Campaigns like the Premier League's No Room For Racism in collaboration with Kick It Out and FIFA's My Game Is Fair Play campaign can play a huge role in bringing fans of the beautiful sport together and quell the hate that may exist.

People are often open to correction why it impacts them directly. It may seem unfortunate that people are not responsive to change via less stern means but the moral arguments aren’t working and the issue or racism continues to rear its ugly head.

The momentum in curbing racism shouldn't halt though. Hopefully we can soon enjoy a time when this evil is stamped out of the beautiful game for good.