Long history
Football’s tribal culture and frenzied fan base makes it a prime stage for societal problems like racism to surface. English footballl had a particularly harrowing time with racism in the 1970s and ’80s when Black players were regularly subjected to monkey chants and offensive slurs.
A generation later, racial abuse of players is more common in social media but also continues in stadiums. A high-profile example came in Spain in 2023 when Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior confronted a supporter who called him a monkey. Months earlier, four people hung an effigy of the Brazilian player off a highway bridge, resulting in prison sentences this year.
Football’s governing bodies have struggled to stamp out the problem, despite measures such as longer bans for players, heavier fines for clubs, partial stadium closures, points deductions and a three-step protocol used by referees when racism occurs in matches.
FIFA recently fined the football federations of Albania, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for offenses including racism during World Cup qualifiers they hosted in June. Argentina, Colombia and Chile also were punished for what FIFA said was “discrimination and racist abuse.”
FIFA created a racism task force in 2013 but controversially disbanded it three years later, saying it had “completely fulfilled its temporary mission.”
Last week, FIFA announced its latest initiative: a 16-strong group of former players, including football greats such as George Weah and Didier Drogba, which will advise on anti-racism initiatives.
“They will further push for a shift in football culture,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said about The Players’ Voice Panel, “making sure measures to counter racism are not just talked about, but actioned, both on and off the pitch.”
One member of the panel, former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre, said he received racist insults on Instagram the day after the initiative was announced.
“It was a surprise,” Silvestre said in comments provided by FIFA, “but it made me even more motivated.”
