'Neo-fascist political views behind rising racism in football stadiums'

The racist attacks and hate speech that have spread in daily life in Western societies are also reflected in football stadiums, said an academic, who attributes the latest negative trend to extreme right-wing and populist political views that are harming the world’s most popular sport, Anadolu Agency reports.

Prof. Ahmet Talimciler, an academic from the Department of Applied Sociology at Bakircay University in Turkiye’s western Izmir province, shed light on the sociological reasons for rising racism in football stadiums in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.

Noting that racist attacks and hate speech have become commonplace in Western societies, Talimciler said social, political, cultural and economic factors in the West, as well as extreme right-wing and populist political views, have a negative impact on football.

Underlining that the problem of racism and hate speech in the sport cannot be evaluated separately from the socio-cultural, economic and political developments in the countries, Talimciler said: “Not recognising the opposing side as human beings” leads to racist slurs directed at footballers of colour and different religions.

READ: Turkiye says racism, xenophobia ‘one of greatest threats’ to social peace

The political, economic and cultural factors behind what is happening inside the stadiums should not be overlooked, he added.

This negative trend can also be seen in other societal spheres, with the academic referring to Greek State Television (ERT) announcer, Alexandras Douvara’s description of the bodies of 18 irregular migrants discovered in the forest fires that started on 19 August in the Alexandroupolis (Dedeagac) region as “good news”.

“This is neo-fascism incarnate,” he said of Douvara’s remarks.

“In the eyes of the ordinary fascist, the ‘other’ is not seen as a human being. Racist motivations take precedence over everything else, and people do not even realise that they are gradually dehumanising.”

Emphasizing that racism exists in societies, but becomes more visible with the targeting of important football players in big football organisations, Talimciler said during the 21 May match between Valencia and Real Madrid in the Spanish first football league, Vinicius Junior, the Brazilian football player of the Madrid team, was subjected to racist slurs by the audience.

The academic also pointed out that Moroccan football players were targeted for their race in conventional and social media, despite their outstanding performance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which was won by Argentina.

“For neo-fascist Europeans, the ‘others’ are primarily Africans and, more recently, Muslim football players. Successful examples of these two groups are even more unpalatable for the neo-racists. The fact that Morocco was targeted in the tournament showed this clearly,” he said.

The academic also mentioned that Italian reporters did not even know the name of Ethiopian Abebe Bikila, who won a medal by running a barefoot marathon, and claimed that he would not be able to complete the race barefoot during the 1960 Olympics in Rome.

He also recalled Jean-Marie Le Pen, the leader of the French far-right National Front, saying before the 1998 World Cup in France, “This team is not my national team,” referring to the French national team, which included several African-origin football players.

“Black football players continue to be targeted today,” Talimciler said.

Referring to the fact that Istanbul side, Fenerbahce, were banned from selling tickets and fined on 22 August due to the events in the away match against Maribor in the 3rd qualifying round of UEFA’s Europa Conference League, he said: “Despite the racist chants of the home team supporters and the violence by the police against Fenerbahce fans, UEFA did not impose serious sanctions on the Slovenian team and fined Fenerbahce, which shows the inconsistency in the mission of the union and its fight against racism.”

“It’s literally a scandal,” the academic said, stressing that football’s governing bodies must take a far more determined and unequivocal stance against racism.

However, he said “Unfortunately, many country federations are not as sensitive to racism as they are to sexual tendencies,” asking the clubs to play a role in the fight against racism.

Underlining the importance of remembering universal values in order to purify football of racism, Talimciler said “The power that will unite the masses separated by fanatical language is hidden in the values inherent in the sport. The dream of winning turns into a nightmare for those who cannot realise that they will not exist without their opponent/other.”

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