Fighting racism from the stands

Although football fans are sometimes seen as the problem in racism in football, they are also the solution.

Unique culture
As the UEFA-backed Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) movement kicks off its Action Week across Europe, UEFA says that fans across the continent can use football’s unique culture to put a stop to the evil phenomenon of intolerance and discrimination.

Guide to Good Practice
European football’s governing body makes the call in its Guide to Good Practice, a comprehensive anti-racism brochure issued in the summer, and which is being circulated throughout the European football family – including all of Europe's national associations, leagues and clubs, UEFA referees, match delegates and venue directors.

No stereotyping
“While it is undoubtedly true that some football supporters are perpetrators of racist abuse against players and other fans,” the guide says, “it would be too easy to stereotype fans in general as ‘the problem’.

Always a minority
“In fact, as most people will acknowledge it is always a minority among supporters who take part in racist activity, whether it’s abuse and chanting or something more physical and menacing. 

At the start
“However,” the guide adds, “it is also true that football fans have always been at the start to combat racism. If, sometimes, they are the problem, they are also the solution. In many European nations it has been the actions of fans that have kick-started other members of the football family into taking notice, and taking action.”

Full UEFA support
UEFA is giving its full backing to the FARE Action week, which involves more than 300 fan groups, clubs, national associations and ethnic minority and migrant organisations in 23 European countries. The Action Week continues until 28 October. For UEFA, the fans can use a variety of methods to make their stance against racism.

Anti-racist banners
Fan banners spreading the anti-racist message – of which there have been numerous examples – are seen as a simple but effective way of putting across the view that racist conduct cannot be allowed to sour football. Other methods of promoting the fight against racism include fanzines, reporting incidents to the authorities, and lobbying clubs as well as football authorities to take responsibility for opposing racism.

Atmosphere and passion
“Fans create the atmosphere and passion that make football unique,” says the UEFA guide. “It’s their culture and it’s from the spirit of this culture that the most effective attempts to combat racism arise.”

UEFA match
UEFA's participation in the FARE Action Week includes a friendly football match featuring the UEFA staff team and a local multi-ethnic football team from the Geneva-based Africa-Suisse sporting organisation at the Stade de Colovray, opposite UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on Wednesday 22 October at 20.15CET.

Click here to download a pdf file of the Guide to Good Practice