FIFA Racism Crackdown
Racism has been in the football spotlight for a long time. With high profile cases involving premier league players such as John Terry, FIFA have been under increasing pressure to crack down on the unacceptable behaviour within the game. Today FIFA approved new racism measures which could see teams relegated or expelled in cases of serious racial incidents. With 99% of the FIFA congress voting in favour of stricter anti-racism regulations it shows that the problem of racial abuse within football is being taken much more seriously.
It seems as though football has been very slow on tackling the issue of race within the game. Very rarely does one hear of racism being a problem in Formula 1, Tennis or rugby. One must question why it took so long for Sepp Blatter and the Football association to address this utterly unacceptable offence.
A minor offence will now be punished with a fine or a warning. What constitutes as a minor racial offence? Surely, in this day and age, any racial offence is serious. However, these new regulations sends out a message to professional level players as well as at grass routes level players that racial abuse has never and will never be accepted. Blatter stated "that we can send a strong message to the racists that their time is up."
Fifa Vice-president, Webb, also put out a strong message to the footballing world - "In 1976, we stood up to apartheid and said no to apartheid, the racist system in South Africa. Now we will meet this challenge, and I ask you as the FIFA family to stand and say no to racism."
It seems as though football has been very slow on tackling the issue of race within the game. Very rarely does one hear of racism being a problem in Formula 1, Tennis or rugby. One must question why it took so long for Sepp Blatter and the Football association to address this utterly unacceptable offence.
A minor offence will now be punished with a fine or a warning. What constitutes as a minor racial offence? Surely, in this day and age, any racial offence is serious. However, these new regulations sends out a message to professional level players as well as at grass routes level players that racial abuse has never and will never be accepted. Blatter stated "that we can send a strong message to the racists that their time is up."
Fifa Vice-president, Webb, also put out a strong message to the footballing world - "In 1976, we stood up to apartheid and said no to apartheid, the racist system in South Africa. Now we will meet this challenge, and I ask you as the FIFA family to stand and say no to racism."
Just this week racism became headline news in Australia as a 13 year old girl racially abused Australian Rules Football player, Adam Goodes, from the stands. The aboriginal sportsman pointed to the teenage girl who called him "ape" during the Sydney Swans' match against Collingwood. Goodes stated that "to come to the boundary line and hear a 13-year-old girl call me an ‘ape’, and it’s not the first time on a footy field that I’ve been referred to as a ‘monkey’ or an ‘ape’, it was shattering.”
Hopefully this new policy by FIFA will decrease and eventually end all racism within football and eventually racism in all sports because in the 21st century there is no place for racism in any aspects of life, including something as popular and as influential as football.
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