FIFA demands 'zero tolerance' for racist abuse

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Gianni Infantino, chief of football's world governing body FIFA on Saturday appealed for the sport to take a "zero tolerance" approach to racism after the Ligue 1 match between Dijon and Amiens was interrupted following monkey chants directed at Prince Gouano.

"FIFA urges all member associations, leagues, clubs, and disciplinary bodies to adopt the same procedure, as well as a zero-tolerance approach to incidents of racism in soccer, and to apply harsh sanctions for any such kind of behavior," Infantino said in a statement.

The abuse leveled at Gouano in Friday's goalless draw, which came after rising Italy star Moise Kean was racially abused by Cagliari fans earlier in the month, while Inter Milan fans took aim at Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly in December.

England players were also subjected to monkey chants during a Euro 2020 qualifier in Montenegro and there have been a series of episodes involving London clubs.

"FIFA stands together with Prince Gouano, Kalidou Koulibaly, Raheem Sterling, Danny Rose, as well as any other player, coach, fan or participant in a soccer match who has suffered from racism, whether at the highest professional level or in a school playground," Infantino added.

The game in Dijon was halted in the 78th minute as players from both sides stopped playing and headed towards the touchline after Gouano said he heard insults.

"It's over," Gouano said. "We're not playing on. I'm taking off my team-mates."

Players, including Gouano, went to remonstrate with fans, while referee Karim Abed also asked the stadium announcer to "get the message across if it happens again, we stop."

Following discussions between players, coaches and officials, play then resumed.

"In Dijon, we saw that it was an isolated supporter who could be identified and arrested," soccer sociologist Nicolas Hourcade, a professor at the Central School of Lyon, said.

"In other countries, there are collective demonstrations where a whole section of the ground, or a good part of one, can shout monkey chants or racist slogans."

After the game, the French league (LFP) said it would investigate and also announced that Dijon had identified the culprit. The club said they intended to press charges.

(Top image: Amiens' Prince Gouano (C) denounces racist songs in the ranks of supporters of Dijon during the Ligue 1 match between Dijon and Amiens at Stade Gaston Gerard in Dijon, France, April 12, 2019. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP