The Premier League continues to tackle discrimination in football with a new phase of its ongoing campaign that reinforces its commitment that there is ‘No Room For Racism’.
The initiative sees the league continue to work with its clubs, with fans and with the FA, EFL, PFA, Kick It Out and the police and this phase of the programme focused on Premier League matches from 19 to 27 October and emphasizes zero tolerance for any racism and that encourages supporters to take action – ‘If you see it, report it.’
The initiative was spearheaded by an online and in-stadium video which explained that while there is room for passion, rivalry, drama, agony, ecstasy and many of forms of emotion in the league – there is no room for racism.
The creative features at least one player from each Premier League club.
The lead spot ran across the league’s digital and social channels
There’s room for passion, for rivalry and for drama but there’s #NoRoomForRacism, anywhere
— Premier League (@premierleague) October 18, 2019
and other strands of the initiative ranged from a campaign-branded ball
various strands of club support,
and an in-game tie-up with EA Sport FIFA which enabled players to show their own support with new @EASPORTSFIFA kits, crests and TIFO’s available in FIFA Ultimate Team soon.
The campaign is one part of the league’s ongoing initiative’s work spans a review of how offenders are identified, investigated and sanctioned, as well as education via rehabilitation programmes, training schemes to empower stewards focused on tech-led, at-match evidence-gathering at matches with increased CCTV coverage and use of bodycams which not only identify offenders, but also inhibit offending behaviour.
The premier League and its partners are also putting pressure on social media companies to tackle the issue of racism on their platforms, while the league is also working with its BAME Participants’ Advisory Group to ensure the views of BAME players and coaches are heard and to help inform ongoing work.
“Our fans share the belief that racism has no place in football or wider society, but discrimination still exists among a minority. We will not tolerate racism in any form and urge anybody who witnesses racist behaviour to report it,” said Premier League Interim Chief Executive Richard Masters.
“Tackling discrimination is a priority and we carry out a wide range of work in this area throughout the year. Education is crucial and our clubs run fantastic community programmes focused on informing thousands of children and young people about the importance of equality and inclusion. Off the pitch, we continue to review and improve reporting and sanctioning processes for offenders. And within the game, we are committed to creating more pathways for black coaches,” added Masters.
Comment:
The campaign followed on from the previous week’s ugly scenes in Sofia when England played Bulgaria in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualification match.
The Tuesday night game was England players racially abused by sections of the home crowd and the game was suspended twice before half-time and English players had considered walking off before winning the game 6:0.
While the Bulgarian coach and several players denied they had heard any racism, captain Ivelin Popov was seen remonstrating with fans to stop the abuse at half-time.
Sadly, it also rolled out during a weekend in which English football also witness its own domestic racist problems during a game in Somerset in which Haringey walked off after being abused by local fans in a match against Yeovil.
Racism reports are on the rise and anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out reported that, during the 2018/19 season, it received 422 reports of discrimination – up from 319 the previous year.
These racist incidents continue to rise in both professional and grassroots football, accounting for 65% of reports – up 43% on the 2017/18 season.
Links:
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