Durban — Despite efforts throughout the world aimed a promoting diversity and increasing awareness, racism in football remains rife.
Work has been done but a lot does still needs to be done to eradicate discrimination along gender, racial, cultural and sexual orientation lines from the beautiful game.
We look at five recent incidents of racism which have rocked the sport.
Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior is abused
The Brazil international was subjected to abuse in Real Madrid’s La Liga defeat to Valencia on Sunday.
A report from the referee gave insight into what happened.
“Racist insults: in the 73rd minute, a spectator from the southern ‘Mario Kempes’ tribune directed himself towards player No 20 of Real Madrid CF Mr Vinicius Jose De Oliveira Do Nascimiento, screaming at him: ‘Monkey, monkey’ which led to the activation of the racism protocol, notifying the pitch delegate so that a corresponding warning over the loudspeaker would be made. The match was halted until an announcement was aired over the loudspeaker of the stadium,” read the referee’s report.
Inter Milan star Lukaku abused in Coppa Italia semi-final
Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku was reportedly subjected to racial abuse before he was sent off following after celebrating his goal against Juventus in the Coppa Italia semi-final last month.
The Belgian received a second yellow card after putting his finger on his lips to celebrate after he netted a penalty in the 1-1 first-leg draw.
“Tonight’s racist remarks made towards Romelu Lukaku by Juventus fans in Turin were beyond despicable and cannot be accepted,” Michael Yormark, president of Roc Nation Sports International, said in a statement.
Umtiti consigned to tears in Italy
In an incident that rocked Italian football in January, Leece defender Samuel Umtiti was consigned to tears after being racially abused in his team’s 2-1 victory over Lazio.
Umtiti and his teammate Lameck Banda were victims of discrimination in the game. Things got so bad that referee Livio Marinelli had to caution fans that the game would be stopped if the insults continued.
Following the game, Leece president Saverio Sticchi gave insight into what happened.
“I hugged Samuel, as I do with all his teammates. After each match, regardless of the result, I want to greet the boys and the staff,” Sticchi said.
“When the referee stopped the game, waiting for the announcer to call for an end to the racist chants, Umtiti asked for the game to resume because he wanted to respond to the insults he received on the pitch. He reacted like a true champion.”
Richarlison abused ahead of the World Cup
Brazilian footballer Richarlison was abused after scoring in his nation’s 5-1 win over Tunisia in the build-up to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Following his goal in September last year, the Tottenham Hotspur player had objects thrown on him which included a banana and plastic cups.
After the incident, an irate Richarlison took to Twitter to demand that action be taken.
“As long as you continue to ‘blah, blah, blah’ and don’t punish, it will continue like this, happening every day and in every corner. No time left, man!” Richarlison tweeted.
The Tunisian Football Federation responded by saying that they “condemn” all forms of racism.
Brentford duo abused
While the Premier League prides itself on being one of the most diverse leagues in the world, it too experiences its fair share of racism. As recently as May last year, Brentford duo Ivan Toney and Rico Henry were abused during a game against Everton at Goodison Park.
Hurt by the incident, both players took to social media to express their concerns.
“I never usually speak out on things that don’t physically harm me or my family, but to see my mom upset after being racially abused by a few Everton fans brought fire to my stomach,” Henry wrote.
“I will do anything for them and whatever it takes to get the small minority punished! This is not acceptable and must be investigated immediately.”
Toney vowed to ensure that the culprit would be punished.
“And for the man that racially abused my family I'll do everything I can to get you the punishment you deserve,” Toney said.
IOL Sport