UEFA president urges tougher action on abuse of players
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin says soccer bodies and clubs should do more to tackle racist abuse of players
UEFA president urges tougher action on abuse of players
Show all 2Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.In an effort to tackle abuse of players, including racism, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said Wednesday soccer bodies and clubs could push for criminal prosecutions.
“Maybe it is time to go with harsher measures. Maybe it is time to put some people in court,” Ceferin said in his keynote speech at the UEFA Congress ahead of his unopposed re-election as president.
Although Ceferin did not specify any case, Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior, who is Black, has been subjected to repeated abuse at Spanish league games this season. Those domestic games are outside UEFA's jurisdiction.
Ceferin, a Slovenian lawyer, said soccer “is an inclusive sport” which is open to everyone.
“Unfortunately, some people have still not grasped this concept, which is why we’re going to have to rethink our approach,” Ceferin said. “In cooperation with the federations and the clubs we would need to target offenders more effectively whenever a player is subjected to racist, homophobic or sexist insults during UEFA competitions.”
UEFA disciplinary rules hold clubs and national federations responsible for racist and offensive conduct by their fans at European competition games.
Sanctions for clubs and federations are typically fines and closing a section of a stadium for future games. They are then responsible for imposing bans from the stadium for their own fans.
___
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.