Status: 08/13/2021 4:57 a.m.
At the latest, the events surrounding the final of the European Football Championship have shown: English football has a problem with racism. And just before the Premier League kicked off today, incidents occurred again. How is the league reacting?
At the Supercup final between Chelsea and Villarreal it became clear again: There is an argument about racism in English football – more precisely: about the gesture for equality and against racism that many players have been making for months. When the Chelsea players knelt down on the Wednesday night before the game, numerous fans booed loudly, as was heard on the British Telecom broadcast.
There is a wide debate about kneeling in England. In May, the Premier League Players’ Association published a report highlighting the extent of racist attacks online. 44 percent of all players have already been insulted – a significant increase. And after the final of the European Football Championship, the three black English national players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka experienced a real shit storm because they did not score on penalties.
Appeal to corporations and politics
The British Football Association is tackling the issue, but also sees corporations and politics as having an obligation. In an interview with the ARD studio London said the director of diversity and inclusion, Edleen John:
Attempt a demonstrative break
In the spring, some clubs tried to increase the pressure by taking a social media break. The platforms should be hit where they are sensitive: if football no longer takes place on them, the usage figures also decrease. The Football Association supported the approach. And the government is currently working on a new law to curb hate speech and racism online and to be able to prosecute better.
But the bill doesn’t go far enough, says Edleen John of the Football Association:
We need a fact check and anonymity must become impossible. Those are the prerequisites for insults. Profiles are set up, hate messages are sent and then deleted. And that within minutes. That has to be addressed. At the moment we see that this problem of anonymity is far from being addressed in the legislation.
Only a small part is taken up
The investigation of a special police unit after the final of the European Football Championship shows how big the problem is. 207 posts were classified as criminal, 34 of the senders are from Great Britain, there were eleven arrests. From Edleen John’s point of view, this is a strong signal that messages of hatred are not without consequences. But it can also be concluded from the figures: In the end, only a few people who could be identified are determined.
Racism is a social phenomenon as a whole, asserts John. Football is a mirror of society. She calls for racism to be prevented as early as in the upbringing.
Bukayo Saka, one of the three national players who were in the shitstorm, also received a lot of encouragement after the final against Italy. In a message he thanked him and wrote: “This is what football is about. Enthusiasm, people of all races, sexes and religions come together because they share the joy of sport.”