UEFA funds encourage FARE fight

At the forefront
The money will help FARE continue its comprehensive campaign to fight racism in football. In conjunction with FARE, UEFA has placed itself at the forefront of the European drive to rid football stadiums and pitches of racist conduct. To mark the presentation, UEFA also used the opportunity to highlight its stance on the issue, saying: "UEFA will not tolerate racism in its sport, and it will not rest until racist attitudes have disappeared from both the field and the stadium. UEFA shares the outrage created by incidents of racist behaviour in football.

'Ultimate sanction'
"Racism affects all areas of European society, but football's massive popularity means the problem becomes magnified in stadia. UEFA takes tough disciplinary action against all associations, clubs and individuals who fail to keep racism out of the game. We sanction all offences with a range of fines which increase as the incident become more serious. We force persistent offenders to play their games behind closed doors. We also reserve the ultimate sanction of ejecting clubs from competition.

Fight intensified
"But sanctions alone are not enough - we must do everything possible to prevent the problem. This is why UEFA has intensified its fight against racism in recent years. Together with FARE, we are taking steps to prevent racism in stadia, including sanctions against spectators and players who engage in racist abuse; prevention of the sale of racist material both inside and outside stadia; introduction of equal opportunities' policies in and around clubs; and a common strategy between stewards and police for dealing with abuse.

Education
"The programme of work with FARE also includes the education of fans, advising governing bodies on how to deal with the problem, and engaging with the growing numbers of ethnic minority communities across Europe. At national level, UEFA has allocated almost €1.7m to help fund the anti-racist programmes of its 52 national member associations. This money comes from the fines that UEFA imposes on clubs and players for all forms of misbehaviour during our games.

Clear determination
"FARE is one of our main portfolio partnership organisations and UEFA continues to provide funding for the programmes of the FARE network. UEFA and FARE accept much still needs to be done, the drive to rid the game of a problem that is endemic will take much doing but our determination is clear."