Is racism inevitable in football?

World
Europe

01:03

An ugly side of football has again reared its head in the European game: Racism.

Weeks after racist chanting was directed at England players during a European Championship qualifying match in Montenegro, 20-year-old Italian striker Moise Kean was racially abused while playing for Juventus against Cagliari.

Born and raised in Italy by Ivorian parents, Kean plays for both the Turin giants and the Italian national team. In a Serie A match on April 2, Cagliari fans taunted him with racist abuse.

Moise Kean of Juventus FC celebrates after scoring a goal during the Serie A football match between Juventus and Udinese in Torino, Italy, March 8, 2019. /VCG Photo

It led to a storm of protest at the highest level of the sport – particularly because it came after another high profile incident just a week before.

“I am ashamed to see extremist movements, use our sport as a vehicle for the messages of hatred and intolerance,” said UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.

How can we address and solve this issue, and how can we educate the public to respect athletes equally?

“There has to be some sanctions,” Chuka Onwumechili told CGTN, who a communications professor at Howard University. He indicates that the current punishments for racist actions are far from enough. He suggests a multi-angle approach, and “it's gotta be harsher than it is now,” Onwumechili said.

“It's not simply fighting racism, the one we see on TV. It is also fighting racism in the back room,” Onwumechili told CGTN.

He points out that there are more problems with institutional and systematic racism in addition to individual ones. The sports club leaders, who are on the elite level, are actually the key figures to exemplify to the general public that racism is not acceptable.

Ged Grebby, the founder and chief executive of Show Racism the Red Card in the UK, points out that the officials need to get involved rather than leaving it to the players. Action has been taken but a lot more work needs to be done.

"Make sure that when racism is happening on the pitch, it isn't up to the players to walk off," Grebby told CGTN.

The Heat with Anand Naidoo is a 30-minute political talk show on CGTN. It airs weekdays at 7:00 a.m. BJT and 6:00 p.m. Eastern in the United States

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