The ship has long sailed when it comes to mixing politics and football, but we’ve seen some shocking examples in the past week where political interference has no positive effect.
Donald Trump’s decision to call Fifa president Gianni Infantino asking for US forward Folarin Balogun’s ban to be reviewed set a dangerous precedent by someone who thinks they can act above the laws of the game.
In a similar fashion, Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla thought that she could somehow post a racist attack towards one of the greats of the game Kylian Mbappe and get away with it.
When the French forward stood up for every footballer by condemning her comments, she doubled down in response, which tells its own story. Football should be grateful to Kylian’s firm stance in standing up to discrimination from those in positions of power.
The French Football Federation have also said they are looking to pursue legal options, while the Paraguayan government have distanced themselves from the comments.
Quite what she was thinking is anyone’s guess. But by trying to defend it by claiming it was a hot-headed moment, or the result of actions during a football match, plays into the regularly-used excuses we often see. There is no excuse for racism or discrimination of any kind, whether that be from a politician online or a fan at the stadium.
By challenging her comments, whether that’s on social media or in the courts, sends an important message. Mbappe was not willing to stand for racism, and so have others in response to incidents across the World Cup.
But the hard and unforgiving truth is that accountability is still often lacking.
We’ve seen Dutch players, German players and English players racially abused on social media platforms. Like the Paraguayan senator, some fans think they can get away with it online, and except for some individual examples, it’s sadly true.
We’ve also seen a case where England fan ‘Angry Ginge’ (aka Morgan Burtwistle) reported another supporter being racist in the stadium during the Group L game against Ghana, but when he took it up with a steward, no action was taken.
That sends its own message. Standing up to discrimination is a courageous act, especially in person, and Morgan should be applauded for calling it out. We need more people like him in football to show that racism or any discrimination will not be tolerated in the stands.
As far as we know, the offender in that case has been blacklisted by Fifa, but as yet, it’s unclear if his name has been passed onto local authorities to hold him to account, or whether there has been any attempt made to ensure he is educated. He could even re-enter a stadium if someone else buys him a ticket in their name. Is that accountability?
Greater accountability builds trust in reporting discrimination in the first place. That’s why we’re encouraged that season on season, people report to Kick It Out in record numbers, and why we’ll keep calling for better outcomes and working with partners to ensure there are better policies to tackle the widescale problems.
Holding individuals accountable is worthwhile, but it needs a coordinated effort, on a global scale, with the help of Fifa, who recently set up its own anti-racism taskforce. It has taken steps to protect players through its Social Media Protection Service, but that gets nowhere near to finding a solution to this scourge on the game, as we have seen with a 13-fold increase in online abuse since the last World Cup.
The Paraguayan senator’s attack shows how far we still have to travel, but we must remain determined to tackle discrimination with courage and consistency, as Mbappe has shown.
We owe players and fans all over the world that much. It’s up to football bodies, national and international authorities and regulators to come together to tackle this problem which is global, agitated by bad actors, not taken seriously by social media firms and needs further outcomes to demonstrate trust.
Thankfully, this World Cup has shown countless examples of fans recognising the joy and togetherness that football brings. Everyone should welcome that, and be determined in their stance to rid the game of those who try to destroy it by holding them accountable.
