It is sad to say that just like society as a whole, we see racist abuse raise its ugly head in football stadiums. Normally the focus is on “fans” directing this towards the player. We see campaigns that revamp every few years in an attempt to force this from the sport. Now though, we are seeing players react more to this abuse and no longer willing to put up with it.
Why are we talking about a subject that is so interwoven into communities and has not been banished to the darkest corners of history? What difference does this cause to us in stadiums, when there have been so many incidents in the past? The difference is the players.
In recent years we have seen players no longer willing to put up with this abuse. Mostly this has been as individuals and in the greater majority retrospectively via statements and media outlets. Occasionally this is vented in lashing out at players or the crowd. One person standing up to a massive problem. This is slowly changing though. We are seeing more incidents of their team members supporting them with the allegation of abuse. We have to say allegation, because unfortunately those that participate in this vile form of abuse do it one on one and avoid witnesses. Where video can catch out a poor acting job, audio at football games does not pick up the hateful speech directed towards another player. So what does this mean to us in crowded places?
Where we have seen football leagues globally play behind closed doors in the recent year, the crowd element has been removed (although there is no doubt it is still there). We have seen greater support online though when members of their team have been the victim of these hateful attacks. They are also calling out “fans” that use online forums to share their hateful thoughts and beliefs. We cannot be naive enough to believe that there are also those out there that agree with this hatred though
There are increasing incidents where players leave the field of play in protest and these players are being supported by team mates joining them. This means games are abandoned. Over this past year, this plays out on television and media outlets post match. As crowd practitioners we have to understand what impact will this have on us in crowded stadiums?
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