GENEVA: FIFA wants all 211 national federations to make racist abuse a disciplinary offense, and designate a crossed hands gesture by victims to alert referees to abuse.
Soccer’s world body detailed the tougher and more unified approach it wants to tackle racism on Thursday after months of consulting with victimized players including Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior.
The crossed hands gesture was made on a medal podium at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 by United States athlete Raven Saunders who won silver in women’s shot put.
“It’s the intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet,” Saunders said in Tokyo.
FIFA is encouraging players to copy the gesture that led to Saunders facing a disciplinary investigation by the International Olympic Committee, which has rules prohibiting political statements at medal ceremonies.
Teams whose fans or players racially abuse opponents could soon face disciplinary punishments such as forfeiting games, typically as a 3-0 loss, as part of a five-pillar pledge on tackling discrimination. They will be put to FIFA member federations on Friday at their annual meeting in Bangkok.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino promised months ago to make a worldwide proposal and has consulted with Brazil star Vinicius Junior, who is Black and has been repeatedly abused by opposing fans in Spanish stadiums.
He broke down in tears at a news conference in March before Spain hosted Brazil in a friendly organized in fallout of the persistent abuse he has faced in his adopted home.
“The time has come for football to unite to unequivocally commit as a global community to address the issue of racism in the game,” FIFA said in a letter to member federations.
FIFA also wants to create a panel of players who will “monitor and advise on the implementation of these actions around the world.”
Soccer has struggled for more than a decade to deal with racism in stadiums by agreeing and coordinating on-field responses by match officials and post-match disciplinary action by federations and competition organizers.
Calls for tougher sanctions, such as match forfeits, points deductions or even disqualification from a competition have been judged too difficult to enforce legally. They also risk enabling agitators to try and provoke incidents.
Soccer leaders in countries such as Italy and Spain have consistently denied the sport has a racism problem.
In some cases, investigations were dropped by soccer authorities including UEFA because there was no evidence beyond a claim by the player alleging abuse.
Black players who claimed they were racially abused by opponents or fans and tried to leave the field have themselves been shown a yellow card for their actions.
FIFA wants the crossed hands gesture to be the recognized signal for referees to start a long-standing three-step process at a game where racial and discriminatory abuse is heard: To pause the play and broadcast warnings in the stadium, to take teams off the field, then abandon games.
That three-step process should be mandatory across all 211 federations, FIFA said on Thursday. They also will be asked to lobby their governments to make racism a criminal offense and prosecute cases, plus promote anti-racism work in schools.
Before Saunders crossed her hands in Tokyo, the gesture was used by the men’s marathon silver medalist at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Feyisa Lilesa raised his arms above his head and crossed his wrists at the finish line in Rio in protest against government oppression at home in Ethiopia.
Saunders initially was in trouble with the IOC for making the gesture which also was a broader statement celebrating diversity. The IOC investigation was paused days later after Saunders’ mother died.
FIFA urges soccer bodies to mandate racism as an offense
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FIFA urges soccer bodies to mandate racism as an offense
- Soccer’s world body detailed the tougher and more unified approach it wants to tackle racism on Thursday
- The crossed hands gesture was made on a medal podium at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 by United States athlete Raven Saunders who won silver in women’s shot put
Celtic in turmoil as turbulence in Scottish soccer gives Hearts a chance at the title
- Neither Celtic nor fierce Glasgow rival Rangers will be top of the Scottish Premiership on Christmas Day and that hasn’t happened since 1993
- That honor will go to Hearts, which hold a six-point lead
EDINBURGH: The newly hired coach is already facing calls to be fired. The chairman has resigned, citing “abuse and threats.” Three directors are said to have been assaulted.
Celtic, the long-time king of Scottish soccer, are embroiled in chaos in what is shaping up to be the most turbulent campaign in Scotland in a generation.
It’s not just Scotland’s national team — heading to a men’s World Cup for the first time since 1998 – that is upsetting the odds this season.
Get this: Neither Celtic nor fierce Glasgow rival Rangers will be top of the Scottish Premiership on Christmas Day and that hasn’t happened since 1993.
That honor will go to Hearts, which hold a six-point lead and are taking advantage of one misstep after another by the so-called “Old Firm” powers to launch an unexpected tilt for the title. Celtic are in second place and Rangers three points further back in third place.
It is an unusual position for Celtic, which have been Scottish champion for 13 of the last 14 years but are imploding this season.
Nancy’s bad start
Celtic might soon be on their third coach of the season.
Wilfried Nancy left Columbus Crew last month to replace Brendan Rodgers, who resigned as manager in October, but has lost his first four matches in charge — including the Scottish League Cup final on Sunday.
The last time Celtic lost four straight games was in 1978.
Nancy has also been mocked in some sections of the Scottish media for using a small tactics board on the sideline during matches.
The Frenchman was named coach of the year in Major League Soccer in 2024 but his final few months in the United States were underwhelming, with the Crew finishing seventh in the regular season and winning just three of their last 12 games in all competitions.
Celtic fans chanted the name of Martin O’Neill, who won seven out of eight matches as interim manager before Nancy’s arrival, during the 2-1 loss at Dundee United on Wednesday.
Celtic host Aberdeen on Sunday and a fifth defeat in a row will leave the club’s board with a decision to make — as if they haven’t enough on their plate already.
Boardroom mess
Celtic’s board has been in the headlines, not least after a coruscating assessment of Rodgers’ tenure by major shareholder Dermot Desmond on the day the Northern Irishman quit.
Desmond described Rodgers’ conduct as “divisive, misleading, and self-serving” and said he “contributed to a toxic atmosphere around the club.”
That highlighted the mess Celtic were in, and the resignation on Tuesday of chairman Peter Lawwell added to it. Lawwell, who has been in the post for three years after 18 years as chief executive, cited “abuse and threats” as the reason for his impending departure at the end of the month.
Lawwell had come under increasing pressure following his handling of the club’s abandoned annual general meeting and the appointment of Nancy, as well as Celtic’s failure to qualify for the Champions League and for not getting the team’s summer transfer window targets.
Also on Tuesday, Celtic chief executive Michael Nicholson claimed that three of his “colleagues” on the board were “assaulted” after the League Cup final, without disclosing further details.
Nicholson said the abuse was “unacceptable,” adding: “As a board, it strengthens our resolve to do the right thing for Celtic and to take this club forward together for the future.”
With Nancy?
“There’s never an easy time to start at Celtic and it has been challenging. We’ve had some disappointing results, not least on Sunday,” Nicholson said.
“In that respect, I understand that the Celtic support are concerned about where we are. I understand and I respect the right of every supporter to express their discontent and to share that with us, but we know where we want to go and step by step, all of our job is to support Wilfried, his team and the squad to take us where we want to get to.”
Hearts’ chance
Over to Hearts to take advantage, then.
Not since 1985, when Aberdeen were champion under Alex Ferguson, have a team other than Celtic or Rangers been Scottish champion.
The following season, Hearts lost out on winning the title on the final day of the campaign, their 26-game unbeaten run coming to an end after giving up two goals in the last 10 minutes at Dundee. The Edinburgh team’s last league title was in 1960.
The club are under new ownership after Tony Bloom — the billionaire owner of Premier League club Brighton — bought a nearly 30 percent stake.
Brighton have been known for their shrewd recruitment owing to a wide scouting network and Hearts are benefitting from that knowledge.
Beat Rangers on Sunday and Hearts are sure to retain their six-point lead going into Christmas and open up a 12-point gap over Rangers, albeit having played one game more.
It might then be down to Celtic to stop it. Given Celtic’s issues, there’s no guarantee of that.
