A Brief Note On The Role Of Racism In Soccer

2005, Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto’o is playing for Barcelona, in an away game versus Spanish club Zaragoza. While retrieving a ball from the sidelines, Zaragoza fans began to chant monkey noises and throw trash at the player; he then attempted to storm off the field, only to be stopped and consoled by his teammates. The three-time African footballer of the year went on to finish the game, assisting a goal in Barcelona’s 2-0 win. When reviewing referee Fernando Carmona Méndez’s match report, Méndez commented that the behavior of the crowd was normal and that he saw no wrongdoing during the game, and had no reason to stop it. After the game, several Zaragoza players, all of which were from white Spanish descent, said that Eto’o was “exaggerating

In addition to providing solutions specifically for the sport, I will also give examples of how these very solutions could also be used to combat racism on a global scale. I believe that these solutions could potentially make soccer fans more aware that racism is a very real problem, that those same fans can be inspired to make a change for the better of the sport. Soccer is a game that anyone should be able to take part in. By allowing racism to run rampant in the game, people will be discouraged from trying to follow the

Both adults and young fans could be educated on what they can do to make sure racism is kicked out of the professional game. As Pallade, Villinger, and Berger suggest, recruiting the help of the government and soccer’s most influential people would help accomplish this (12). By obtaining official backing from the government, awareness programs could be made more widespread. Securing endorsements from some of the game’s biggest players would also be very beneficial to the cause; seeing that these issues matter to professional soccer players could perhaps change the mind of the common soccer fan. This would also help to educate the average person on racism. Programs such as these should not only be limited to soccer; a strong program could also be used to further racial equality (Cleland and Cashmore 2). By showing a person that racism is more than a vocal minority we could inspire a real change in people. Continually broadcasting the message that racism is a very real, very serious problem would help to inform more people of the problem. Widespread awareness is the key to effectively combatting