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Uzone.id – The beauty of modern football, with all the latest rules and technology, is that it is still often haunted by acts of racism which interfere with many people enjoying the game of football.
Football is supposed to be a unifier for all groups in the world, even though it is filled with all kinds of differences, all kinds of ethnicities, and tribes that make up the most popular sporting event throughout the world.
The following is a brief note about racist incidents that occurred in football.
Cases of Racism against English Players at Euro 2020
This case of racism occurred after the Euro 2020 final. Racism perpetrated by supporters, which was experienced by Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka when they failed to score in the penalty shootout at the goal ended England’s defeat.
Quoted from the BBC, the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) said data shared with news channel Channel 3 after the Euro 2020 final showed that more than 850,000 tweets had been analyzed across the tournament. Matches and broadcasts, notably 1,913 abusive tweets targeting Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Raheem Sterling, 167 posts were deemed “high risk” abuse.
Suarez’s racism case against Evra
Patrice Evra said that he had received many murder warnings when he was involved in a racism case with Luis Suarez. Evra even leaked the secret that his house was under tight security because of this.
As is known, Evra and Suarez were involved in a racist incident in October 2011. At that time, Evra was still defending Manchester United, while Suarez was still defending Liverpool.
Suarez once called Evra the racial word ‘negro’ which ultimately made the former left full back for the French national team emotional. This racial conflict also resulted in Suarez being banned from competing for eight matches and fined 40 thousand pounds.
Although many people think the case ended when Suarez was sentenced, Evra did not. Yes, Evra admitted that he had received death threats when he was still involved in a racist case with Suarez.
Racism against Asian footballer Son Heung Min
Tottenham Hotspur’s, Son Heung-Min was accused of receiving racist treatment during a match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, in August 2022
The excitement in Week Two of the Premier League between Chelsea and Tottenham seems to have been tainted by the treatment of the Blues fans. During a match dubbed the London Derby, Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-Min was accused of racial abuse by Chelsea fans.
According to British media sources, Son Heung-Min, who played 79 minutes of the match, was subjected to racist abuse in the second half. According to the same source, Son became a victim of racism when he took a corner kick in the second half.
In addition, based on evidence widely circulated online, a Chelsea fan was found to have made inappropriate movements. The supporter deliberately narrowed his eyes with his two index fingers and seemed to be mocking Son because his eyes were narrow.
Leeds United supporters reportedly made racist insults at Arsenal players
Incidents of racism also occurred in the Premier League match when Leeds United hosted Arsenal at Elland Road on December 18, 2021. This incident occurred after an Arsenal substitute admitted that he had received racist remarks from Leeds United fans.
Regarding these allegations, Yorkshire Police has also launched an investigation to arrest the perpetrators of racism. Meanwhile, Leeds United is also assisting the police in their efforts to arrest fans who have racist behavior.
Case of racism experienced by Vincent Kompany, former Manchester City player
The racism incident also targeted the coach and former Belgian footballer, Vincent Kompany. This racist incident happened to Kompany when the club he managed, Anderlecht, headed to the Jan-Breydel-Stadium to face Club Brugge.
The 35-year-old coach was insulted by some home team fans. Indeed, several players and staff also did not escape insults from Club Brugge supporters.
Meanwhile, Club Brugge also strongly condemns the supporters’ racist practices which are not by the club’s standards. Belgian football star Romelu Lukaku also spoke out on the issue and called on the Belgian authorities to respond immediately.
Apart from cases that occur on the field, racist acts targeting players of certain ethnicities also often occur via social networks. Hopefully in the future understanding of this problem will increase so that similar incidents do not happen again, both in the world of football and in other areas of life.
