I’ve already discussed racial unfairness in sports, notably soccer, but this is another event from earlier this year that has lately received an update. UEFA, the governing body of European soccer, has ended an investigation into “alleged” racist abuse by thousands of CHILDREN towards a Black player during a Europa League match. What struck me first was not the fact that the investigations had been halted, but the fact that the perpetrators were CHILDREN. We can now understand that the root of the problem of social unfairness is childhood. Education, like the peer question from two modules ago, must be pounded into the youngsters in order to teach them. It might not completely eliminate the problem, of course it wouldn’t, but it’s a good step forward. In this way, it eliminates single stories of stereotypes. Many individuals who have been affected by racial injustices have said they became more insecure of how they stand out and in this example, quite a few soccer players have come forth and spoke about their experiences. A player who spoke about their story on this topic is Adebayo Akinfenwa. His story reminds me of Ortiz Cofer’s “The Story of My Body” and they’re some similar scenarios. He’s an African English soccer player and he shared his story of the racial abuse he suffered while playing and living in Lithuania. It won’t totally solve the problem, of course, but it’s a start in the right direction. As a result, single stories of stereotypes are eliminated. Many people who have been touched by racial injustices have stated that they have become more self-conscious about how they stand out, and many soccer players have stepped forward to share their stories. Adebayo Akinfenwa is one of the players that has spoken about their experience with this topic. His account reminds me of Ortiz Cofer’s “The Story of My Body,” and there are some parallels between the two stories. He’s an African English soccer player who opened up about the racial harassment he faced in Lithuania while playing and living there. He talked about how he stood out from the throng and that even his own admirers teased him. He’d reflect and say, “It still crumbles me to this day.” During the 2018-19 season, which ran from September to July, Kick It Out, England’s anti-racism and pro-inclusion sports organization, released statistics showing that reports of discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, religion, and race increased by 32% from the previous season, from 319 to 422. Racist abuse directed at athletes isn’t the only issue. Along with racist occurrences, anti-racism organizations have long chastised soccer’s regulating bodies for their sluggish responses and insufficient punishments, blaming the sport’s regulatory bodies for paying lip service to the problem but failing to lead in eradicating it. Both FIFA and UEFA, the world’s soccer governing bodies, have rebutted those claims, blaming the growth of nationalism and reaffirmed their own promises to combat racism.
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12105693/black-london-footballers-pioneers-cage-games-and-setbacks
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12117722/adebayo-akinfenwa-on-racist-abuse-suffered-during-lithuanian-ordeal
https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/racism-soccer-epidemic-mirrors-disturbing-trends-europe-advocates/story?id=67850877