GENEVA – FIFA wants all 211 national associations to determine racist abuse in football as a disciplinary offense and designate a crossed-hand gesture by victims to signal the abuse they receive.
Football’s world body on Thursday detailed the tougher, more unified approach it wants to combat racism, following months of consultation with victimized players including Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior.
The crossed hands gesture was made on the medal podium at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics by American athlete Raven Saunders, who won silver in the women’s shot put.
“It’s the intersection where all the oppressed people meet,” Saunders said in Tokyo.
FIFA is encouraging players to copy the gesture that saw Saunders face 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 a 3-0 defeat, as part of a five-pillar commitment to combat discrimination. They will be presented to FIFA member federations on Friday at their annual meeting in Bangkok.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino promised months ago to make a global proposal and consulted Brazilian star Vinicius Junior, who is black and has been repeatedly abused by opposing fans in Spanish stadiums.
He broke down in tears at a press conference in March before Spain hosted Brazil in a friendly organized due to the persistent abuse he faced in his adopted country.
“The time has come for us to come together to unequivocally commit as a global community to addressing the issue of racism in the game,” FIFA said in a letter to member associations.
FIFA also wants to create a panel of players that will “monitor and advise on the implementation of these actions around the world”.
Football has struggled for more than a decade to deal with racism in stadiums, agreeing and coordinating on-field responses by referees and post-match disciplinary actions by federations and competition organizers.
Football leaders in countries such as Italy and Spain have consistently denied that the sport has a racism problem.
In some cases, investigations were dropped by football authorities, including UEFA, because there was no evidence other than a complaint from the player alleging abuse.
Black players who claimed to have been racially abused by opponents or fans and attempted to leave the field were themselves yellow carded for their actions.
FIFA wants the folded hands gesture to be the recognized signal for referees to begin a long-running three-step process in a game where racial and discriminatory abuse is heard: pausing the game and broadcasting warnings in the stadium, removing teams from the field and then abandon the games.
This three-step process should be mandatory across all 211 federations, FIFA said on Thursday.
Saunders initially got into trouble with the IOC for making the gesture, which was also a broader statement celebrating diversity. The IOC investigation was halted days later following the death of Saunders’ mother.
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