UEFA’s Ceferin asks fans to help fight racism in football

Soccer fans were asked on Thursday to play their part in driving racism out of the sport.

Following the abuse aimed at players like Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin called on supporters to identify offenders.

“Let’s work together to put our house in order and ban from our stadiums [anyone] who comes not for love of football like you, but for the hatred for others,” he said during a speech at the European Football Fans’ Congress in Manchester.

Vinícius, who is Black, has been the target of sustained racist abuse by fans in Spanish stadiums. An effigy of the Brazil international was hung from a bridge in Madrid in January and he has been subjected to repeated racist taunts.

There are also a growing number of players being targeted on social media.

Soccer’s ruling bodies have been called upon to do more to combat racism. Čeferin said fans need to step up as well.

“Will you help us rid the game of people who hide in the crowd in order to pour out messages of hate because of a player’s skin color or sexual orientation?” he said Thursday. “We must shout, call out and rid ourselves of these idiots, who discredit both football and you the fans.”

The head of European soccer’s ruling body also condemned abuse aimed at officials, such as referee Anthony Taylor, who was targeted after the Europa League final.

“I will never accept the kind of threats and intimidation and violence that some people are subjected to as we saw just recently,” he said.

Čeferin went on to apologize to fans for after the chaotic security failures that caused a near-disaster at the Champions League final in Paris last year and admitted to further problems experienced by supporters at this year’s final, which was held in Istanbul earlier this month.

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“We would love to erase events that happened last year from our memories,” he said. “Last year everyone welcomed our decision to move the finals from St. Petersburg to Paris and in the end we all know what happened. Good intentions are many times not enough and we know that and we are sorry for that.”

Investigators held UEFA mostly responsible for the failed security operation at the 2022 Champions League final that put the lives of Liverpool and Real Madrid fans at risk.

Tens of thousands of fans were held in increasingly crushed queues for hours before the game at the 75,000-capacity Stade de France. Many fans were fired on with tear gas by police.

In May, UEFA announced it would give refunds to any Liverpool fan in possession of a ticket for the 2022 final.

In Istanbul, fans complained about transport to and from the Atatürk Olympic Stadium, with some not being able to get back to their hotels until 3 a.m. local time after Manchester City beat Internazionale to win a historic treble under Pep Guardiola in the final.