Schalke show racism the red card

A number of German football clubs have joined FARE, the Football against Racism in Europe network, in lending their support to an initiative by fans of FC Schalke 04 to show the red card to racism, discrimination and violence.

Photo exhibition
Schalke fans came up with the idea of staging an exhibition of photographs from clubs in North-Rhine Westfalia in order to promote greater respect and co-operation among teams and their followers in the region. Fifteen clubs supported the initiative, including VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach and VfL Bochum 1848 from the Bundesliga and second division sides SC Rot-Weiss Oberhausen and MSV Duisburg.

'Role model'
The participating clubs were asked to donate a photograph showing men and women footballers holding aloft red placards which read 'Show racism the red card'. One of the organisers of the initiative, Dirk Rademacher, said: "A role model for this project is a campaign undertaken in England in which all the country's professional clubs joined in."

Wolf treated
A controversial second division match between Alemannia Aachen and 1. FC Nürnberg played at the end of November highlighted the importance of a union against violence and disorder. After Aachen's Erik Meijer was sent off, a number of items were thrown on to the pitch and at players and coaching staff. Nürnberg coach Wolfgang Wolf needed treatment after being struck on the head.

'Educational work'
Schalke general manager Andreas Müller said: "In such situations it is vitally important that the players keep cool and in this incident they didn't. This is more evidence of the need for this campaign." Rademacher is in agreement, although he has not received the expected levels of support from throughout Germany. "We wrote to all the clubs but not all were as co-operative as Schalke, who not only agreed to take part but also to undertake educational work with other clubs."

'Transmit harmony'
Müller cannot understand why some of Schalke's fellow top-flight clubs have not been supportive, saying racism is by no means "a marginal subject". Fortuna Düsseldorf 1895 press officer Tom Koster added: "We have players from 12 nations in our first team who get along very well with each other. We should be able to transmit this harmony from the pitch to the stands." If they succeed, the project will have been a great success.