No place for racists and hooligans

UEFA’s determination to help stamp out racism in football has come to the fore this week, reflecting the organisation's commitment to getting tough with those who, on and off the field, violate the European game's rules, regulations and ethics.

Leading role
The governing body of European football has vowed to take a leading role in the campaign to combat racism and intolerance within the game, as well as to eliminate crowd disturbances that can have such a damaging effect on the public's perception of the sport.

Firm action
During the past week, UEFA has shown proof of its intention to act firmly by announcing investigations into three alleged cases of racism at European club competition games over the past few days.

Three cases
Two cases of alleged racist abuse relate to the UEFA Champions League encounter between Valencia CF and Liverpool FC on 17 September and the UEFA Cup game between HNK Hadjuk Split and Fulham FC on 19 September. UEFA’s Control and Disciplinary Body is likely to examine the two cases on 10 October. A further investigation is also taking place into a case of alleged racism at Wednesday's Champions League match between PSV Eindhoven and Arsenal FC.

Crowd trouble
In addition, each new UEFA disciplinary hearing results in punishments of varying degrees for cases of crowd violence, missile-throwing, the setting-off of fireworks and other misdemeanours that can endanger the wellbeing of the vast majority of peaceable fans who come to Europe's football stadiums.

List of measures
UEFA's disciplinary bodies have a detailed list of measures that they can take for racist behaviour or crowd disturbances. These range from a simple warning or reprimand to fines of various amounts depending on the gravity of the offence, an order to play a match behind closed doors or even a stadium ban.

Stiff sanctions
Add to that measures such as the annulment of a match result, the replaying of a match, deduction of points, awarding of a match by default and disqualification from competitions, and it is clear that anyone stepping out of line faces the possibility of a stiff sanction. Racism and crowd violence are two particular areas where UEFA looks to hand down severe penalties if necessary.

No place
In the anti-racism drive, UEFA Chief Executive Gerhard Aigner called this week for Europe's football community to join together to fight the evil of racism in the game. "There is no place for racism in football," he said. "Everyone in football must work together to stamp out racist behaviour wherever it may occur. We have revised our rulebook to make additional penalties available to our disciplinary body. We will punish racist abuse and behaviour whenever it is proven."

Closed doors
UEFA has had the opportunity to show recently that it will have no truck either with serious misbehaviour in the stands. Yugoslavia’s champions, FK Partizan, were ordered to play their next European club competition match - against Sporting Clube de Portugal in the UEFA Cup - behind closed doors following incidents at their Champions League third qualifying round match against FC Bayern München in August. This will be the first time that a club has had to play a game in an empty stadium since this disciplinary measure, which was previously used until 1995, was re-introduced for the 2001/02 season.

Stadium ban
In another recent example, serious crowd trouble marred the Champions League game between Paris Saint-German FC and Galatasaray SK in March 2001 – the match was interrupted amid missile-throwing and attempts to tear down security fences – and led to the French side being ordered to play away from their stadium for two matches, with Turkish opponents Galatasaray receiving a considerable fine for the conduct of their followers in the disturbances.

Financial aid
As well as using disciplinary deterrents, the European umbrella body is putting its financial resources at the disposal of those working to create an environment in which there is no room for racism, intolerance or violence among fans. UEFA has been funding the activities of the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network, a European-wide organisation uniting fans, clubs and other football bodies from many different countries, cultures and ethnic backgrounds. "We are providing significant financial support to FARE," says Gerhard Aigner.

Strong force
Be it through disciplinary measures, appropriate financial assistance or rewards for fair play and sportsmanship on and off the field, UEFA's contribution to driving racism and crowd violence out of football continues to gather pace. "An important part of the sport’s success is that it brings together players and spectators from different cultures," UEFA said in an official statement. "Football always has been, and must remain, a game for everyone and a strong force for integration and co-operation."