NewsFIFA Urges Federations To Declare Penalty For Anti-Black Racism

FIFA Urges Federations To Declare Penalty For Anti-Black Racism

FIFA strongly urged all 211 national federations to both mandate racism and racist gestures as penalties.

After several high-profile players raised concerns regarding racist abuse they suffered at the hands of fans, on May 16, FIFA strongly urged all 211 national federations to both mandate racism and racist gestures as penalties and adopt a standard gesture for communicating that this violation had occurred either in the stands or on the field of play. 

As ESPN reports, FIFA President Gianni Infantino pledged to make a proposal after consulting with Brazilian superstar Vinicius Junior, who plays for Real Madrid and had voiced concern about facing racist taunts from fans in Spain. In a letter addressed to its member federations, FIFA called for unity. “The time has come for football to unite to unequivocally commit as a global community to address the issue of racism in the game.” The letter also wanted a panel composed of players who would “monitor and advise on the implementation of these actions around the world.”

Although the gesture from FIFA has been well received, some say it lacks specificity. As The Athletic reports, Tony Burnett, the chief executive of an anti-discrimination charity, Kick It Out, said in a letter critical of the proposals that although FIFA’s intentions appear to be noble, they lack direction. “FIFA’s intentions to take a stand against racism appear to be genuine, but lack detail and in some cases fail to address ongoing concerns,” Burnet wrote.

Burnett’s letter continued, “Kick It Out is surprised that after consulting players, the three-step protocol is set to continue. It has failed to protect players for years, and rather than introducing new hand gestures, FIFA should focus on empowering players and their management to leave the pitch when they feel it’s appropriate. Referees also need better education.”

The letter concludes, “While players offer a genuine insight into the effects of racism, asking them to come up with solutions to tackle this issue is unfair. Many have called for more to be done, but they should not bear the responsibility for the problem. That is on those who run the game, who have a duty to protect players and need to ensure they are transparent about their actions.”

He told CNN in April, “I do think there’s got to be more extreme consequences.” Bellingham added, “I think that’s the best way to try and stop people from doing it in the future. What would be interesting is having the players involved. The players are the ones who are having to experience it, not these people in charge of the game. So if they really want to know what they think is fair or if they are confused, there are players all over Spain and all over the world that they can speak to, and I’ll tell them to take advantage of that.”

Bellingham continued, “We can all say that we want to do things or say it should change, but I think we can all come together, regardless of what color you are, to help get rid of it because we’re all on the same team at the end of the day and we all think it’s disgusting. It shouldn’t be happening. So yeah, I look forward to seeing how the people in charge incorporate the players into the process of preventing it in the future.”

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Source: Black Enterprise

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