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UN concerned by racism in Italian football

Politiko 2023-08-31 19:50:11

UN concerned by racism in Italian football

The committee responsible for the fight against racism at the United Nations (UN) has raised "a red flag" over Italian football in the latest findings published in a report on 31 August.

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) raised concerns about economic or social issues in six countries, including Croatia, Namibia, Senegal, Turkmenistan and Uruguay, as well as Italy, where it singled out football.

Racist abuse aimed at players of African or Eastern European descent in Italy's elite Serie A soccer league drew international attention in April following the punishment of footballer Romelu Lukaku.

The Belgian forward received a second yellow card after celebrating a goal for Inter in a Coppa Italia semi-final, addressing Juventus fans who had racially abused him by holding his index finger to his lips.

After his initial one-match ban sparked an angry backlash, the Italian football authorities withdrew the punishment.

CERD said in its statement that as far as Italy is concerned, it was "alarmed by politicians and high-level government officials using hate speech and racist political discourse against ethnic minorities", specifying Roma and people of African origin. .

"The committee also raised a red flag for racist acts during sporting events, including physical and verbal attacks against athletes of African descent," the published report said.

"The committee asked Italy to investigate all racist abuses in sport and to sanction those responsible."

One of the committee members, Regine Esseneme, from Cameroon, asked Italy to pay special attention to these cases, which are being repeated especially in the football field.

Racist abuse by football fans has been a topic of discussion in several countries in recent months due to repeated attacks on Real Madrid's Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior in Spain.

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