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share of racist taunts while
playing in Europe. The second
generation Haitian-American,
raised in Boca Raton, had
received interest from Lazio, an
Italian soccer club with a
reputation for having some of
Europe’s most racist fans.
Altidore acknowledged that
racism in the sport is “a big
problem, a problem that is more
alive than people realize”, yet was
almost
excited
at
the
opportunity to play in Italy. “I’m
not saying Italy is a racist
country, but it would be a good
opportunity to take a stance.
Italy is a stage.”
Racism elsewhere
While Italian racism in
soccer has made the most
headlines in 2013, racism in the
sport is definitely not limited to
the Boot of Europe. The
Philippine national team and
their fans were harassed in Hong
Kong when the two teams faced
each other in a friendly
exhibition match. Hong Kong
fans threw bottles at Philippine
fans, called them slaves, booed
their national anthem and threw
debris at the Philippine national
team after Hong Kong’s 0-1
defeat on June 4.
On April 14, 2005 in
Argentina, Quilmes footballer
Leandro Desabato was arrested
and held in Brazil for 40 hours
for racially abusing Grafite, a
black
Brazilian
footballer.
Grafite mercifully chose not to
press charges. In 2006, fans of
Mexican football team Santos
Laguna imitated chimpanzee
noises to taunt Panamanian
player Felipe Baloy from C.F.
Monterry when he scored a goal.
The opposing fans also called
Baloy a come platano (banana
eater) and a chango (monkey).
The Mexican Federation of
Football set out to make a
statement by fining Santos
Laguna the equivalent of 5,600
days (15.33 years) of league
minimum wage.
Sanctions against racism
Fortunately, in the wake of
Boateng’s racist encounter, FIFA
and the Union of European
Football Associations (UEFA)
have created harsher anti-racism
sanctions, by threatening to fine,
close stadiums, deduct points, or
even demote a ball club to a
lower division. Racism in soccer
has been a huge problem since
the sport began, but soccer’s
governing bodies are only
starting to take action against it
now.
Team owners never used to
worry about racism, so as long as
butts were in the seats and the
money kept rolling in. However,
Boateng’s departure prompting
both teams to leave that same
January game shows owners that
if racism isn’t taken care of, the
players will cut revenue by
stopping the game altogether.
Leaving the game sends a
powerful message to fans and
the league, but this strategy is
not
foolproof ;
leaving
a
competitive match like a UEFA
Final would destroy that player’s
reputation with fans and
teammates.
UEFA fines for racism hover
around 50,000 euros (roughly
$65,300), and are really just slaps
on the wrist for big soccer clubs.
But, when combined with
stadium
closures,
team
relegations,
and
point
deductions,
these
punitive
actions show that people are
finally starting to take racism in
the sport seriously and take a
step in the right direction.
Standing up to racism
UEFA also has a very close
partnership with the Football
against Racism in Europe
(FARE) network. It is a network
of 117 individuals, private
organizations and national
associations and clubs from all
across the world who are
committed
to
ending
discrimination in European
soccer and promoting its ability
to facilitate unity. UEFA has
supported the FARE network
since 2001, and every October,
all 40 UEFA club competitive
matches display the teams being
introduced alongside children
wearing Unite Against Racism
T-shirts. Team captains are
required to Unite Against
Racism armbands as well.
Hopefully, the effects of
UEFA sanctions, FARE, and the
players’ efforts will someday
change the hypocritical façade
of the world and humanity being
“united by soccer” into a truthful
image. “Look beneath the
surface so you can judge
correctly” (John 7:24).
To learn more about FARE or to
join their network, please go to
farenet.org.
Jonathan Ebanks is a freelance
writer. He can be reached at
ebankj9770@gmail.com.
>
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August 2013 39
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