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| Lech Poznan celebrate winning first place in the Polish league. Picture used under Creative Commons Share-Alike license. Attribution to original author: Klapi |
Following the partial closing of SS Lazio’s Stadio
Olympico for racist chants against Juventus’ black players, UEFA is now
sanctioning Hungarian club Honved Budapest and two Polish clubs, Lech Poznan
and Piast Gliwice, for similar racist chants against players and fans[1].
Honved Budapest received the worst punishment for racist chants against Fk
Vojvodivina’s Serbian fans. Not only faced with playing its next two European[2]
games behind closed doors, but Honved must also pay a fine of € 50,000. The two
Polish clubs, like SS Lazio weeks before, have only a portion of their supporters’
section blocked off for their next home game[3].
Racism is still rampant in Europe and especially in
soccer, a game of the common man where public sentiments of exclusion and
prejudice cannot hide behind the handshakes of politicians. UEFA[4]
and FIFA must take further initiative to outline and systematize a process to
sanction clubs for racism against fans and players. In the case of SS Lazio and
the two Polish clubs, the line between racism that constitutes a partial
closure of a section and the full closure of a stadium remains murky. Closures
can be effective as it affects the soccer club’s revenue and thus puts future
pressure on the club to prevent supporters, fans, and players from racist
chants. However, partial closures serve as a slap in the wrist as it does not
force the club to be more proactive about its stadium’s behavior. As the
beautiful game becomes more globalized, upcoming World Cups in Russia in 2018
and Qatar in 2022 demand more rigid regulations and sanctions from FIFA’s front
office. In places where human rights, ethnic integration, and religious
tolerance remain questionable governing bodies must act more concretely to keep
the beautiful game beautiful.
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