Is racism inevitable in football?

Racism has long been considered one of the worst and most unique character traits of human beings, and the international community has striven to eradicate racism for the past 40 years. Despite the notable achievements so far, there is still a long way to go and a lot more effort is needed.

Football, a fascinating sport that advocates equality and hard work on and off the pitch is has been a tool to fighting racism for several decades. However, racial discrimination against fans and players continue in some corners of the game. Moise Kean, a 20-year-old up-and-coming Italian forward with an African background, is the latest high profile victim of racism within the game.

Born and raised in Italy by his parents from Ivory Coast, Kean is a star player with Italian football giant Juventus and also plays for the Italian national team, but his African background makes him stand out from the other players on the pitch. On April 2, during a Serie A match at Cagliari, Kean suffered racist abuse from the home team's stands.

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 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.

(CGTN)