I think that the fact we have laws shows that racism is a problem in the UK. I also think that the laws around football are not strict enough, as most of the people who are arrested will be let off with either a caution or small fine.
What causes racist behaviour?
The obvious cause of racism is the media. Many films and programs show racist behaviour as being funny and acceptable. Children see these acts of racism and believe that it is okay. Newspapers and magazines often have racist jokes which people spread on and that is a new form of racism.
Also, the family has a massive influence on racism. If a parent is very racist, their children grow up and follow their parent’s acts.
My primary research shows that there is clearly a problem with racism in English Premier League football. My research also shows that not many people knew what racism was exactly from series of answers. I asked the public if they thought enough was being done to stop racism in English football and I got these results:
My primary research clearly suggests that there is a problem with racism in football and not enough is being done to stop racism. It also shows that a large majority of people would prefer for it to be stopped by introducing a rule of punishment on the offender and the offender’s team if a racist comment or action takes place.
My primary research is not very reliable because it is all opinions of pupils I have questioned and not facts. However, there is some reliability in my results as all pupils questioned have experienced a football game and so have some idea of racism in English Premier League matches.
History of racism in English league football
This diagram shows the number of racist happenings in English premier league football.
Diagram – taken from “Google timeline- racist events in English premier league football”.
This diagram clearly shows that there is history of racism in English football and it has increased greatly since 1990. On the other hand, since 2004, when a spokesman commented "The FA, the Premier League and the Football League condemn racism in all its forms and are committed to stamping out any form of racist comment or action” racist events have decreased and hopefully will keep falling. I don’t believe the F.A is taking enough action to solve racism in football. Although, there will always be racism in the world, the F.A must be able to stop it appearing in football with the correct approach.
This source is not reliable because it has no evidence as to where it gathered the information and could be made up facts.
The first professional black player in Britain was Arthur Wharton, who signed for Darlington FC in 1889. Nowadays a black player is not unusual. Around 25% of professional players are black. However, in the 1993/1994 season Carling survey of Premier League fans, only 1% of fans were 'non-white'. It is argued that this is due to a constant act of racism amongst traditional football fans.
In an attempt to solve the problem, the Campaign for Racial Equality, the Football Supporters Association and the Professional Footballers Association have all launched initiatives to try and rid football grounds of racism and encourage more people from ethnic minorities to attend matches. Their techniques and levels of success will be discussed later, but let us start by examining the actual types of racism that exist in football stadiums.
Racist chanting in the 1970s and 1980s often, members of the crowd made monkey noises at black players on the pitch. Other abuse has been more specific. For example, after the Deptford fire in 1981 when 13 black youths were burnt to death, a chant that could be heard at Millwall was:
"We all agree
N****s burn better than petrol"
There is clearly a history of racism in English football proven from the above statements.. These sources also prove the fact that racism was a problem in English football.
“Feb 19, 1995 - Urging reality on the clerks who administer English football has long been futile. They feel themselves to be, and are, largely, helpless as the waves of violence, racism and corruption, the prevailing values of contemporary English society, engulf their sport.”
www.independent.co.uk/sport
these sources, all taken from the independent newspaper, are partially reliable however may be false because newspaper articles are written and reported by one person and so it is their opinion not all facts.
“Mar 30, 1998 - Mr Mellor said at the report's launch: "People in some parts of the game need to raise their awareness of what has to be done to make ethnic minorities feel welcome in English football. Racism is not a problem of football it is a problem of a wider society. Football is taking a lead”
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/71532.stm
This source is reliable because it has been taken from the BBC news website and so all facts are true. Although they may have been exaggerated slightly, there will be no lies or untrue facts like newspaper articles because websites do no need to sell their stories.
“Aug 23, 2000 - Emmanuel Petit believes that the root cause of former team-mate Patrick Vieira's problems in English football is racism. ... Petit left Arsenal for Barcelona in the summer and had a history of problems with referees himself. "When you see Patrick's dismissals, you can only ask yourself”
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football
Again, like the above source, this one was also taken from the BBC website and so also has high reliability for the same reasons given above.
My sources I was provided with, suggest otherwise, that racism is at a high level in English football in general. The quote “2001, Andy Cole was abused by England fans whilst playing England against France in Paris.” This is clearly an intended racist action because the racist person was a fan of the team Andy Cole represented.
Overall, my secondary research shows a clear problem with racism in English Premier League. All sources show racist events and opinions on the matter. Clearly, my secondary research shows that something must be done to prevent racism now.
What is being done to Eliminate racism?!
Everyone knows that there is a problem with racism in English football. But not many people do anything about it. The British public should decide to stamp out racism in English football themselves. But there are actions and plans from Uefa that hopes to eliminate racism.
A representative of Uefa comments:
“Racism has long tarnished the game of football in quite a few European countries, though it seems that it has recently emerged with a new -– even uglier -– face, since a number of racist incidents now involve not only fans but players and officials as well. The apparent lack of ethos that characterizes a section of fans, predominantly, has certainly disturbed national and European football governing bodies alike. Nevertheless, their attempts to rid the popular game off all forms of discrimination have rarely been crowned with success.”
Uefa are doing all they can to stop racism with a Unite against Racism conference in Warsaw. Poland’s spokesman made a stand in the conference contributing solidly to the fight against racism and discrimination in football.
Pressure is building on European football authorities to step up the fight against racism as the chair of the sports intergroup in the European Parliament called on UEFA to impose punishments on clubs, players and fans involved in racist acts which can make a huge difference in football clubs because of how much fans support and encourage their football team. This then causes less racist behavior immediately resulting with better behavior from local fans in case they jeopardize their team’s success.
MEP Chris Heaton-Harris urged UEFA to show it is serious about racist incidents and "impose stricter punishments on clubs, players or fans" who commit such acts. "UEFA need to keep to their word and show zero tolerance. This behavior needs to be kicked out of the game for good."
The U.K is not doing anything to stop racism in English league football. Although a lot more could be done to ban it for good.
This evidence taken from the official UEFA website supports my primary research because they both show that there is a problem in U.K with racism but not enough is being done to solve the problem.
My first aim in my essay was to find out if racism is a problem in English Premier League football which I did and I found that it is and has been a problem for a long time. I then went on to find out a little about the laws and history of the topic. From both my primary and secondary research I found that many people agree with my statement that racism is a problem in football in the U.K. Overall, it is clear that something should be done to stop racism altogether. When evaluating my investigation there are a number of things to take into consideration. I believe that I used the methods comparing and contrasting, primary research and personal opinions to come to the conclusion that racism is clearly a problem here in the U.K but there are people working against the problem, although it they may not have made a great difference at the moment.
My first aim was to prove that there is a problem with racism in English Premier League football. From my secondary research it is clear that there is a problem and has been for a while with racism and so proves that nothing is doing to stop it.
My primary research supports my secondary research as it shows that the public that attend football matches for themselves and they generally say racism is a problem but they don’t have an inside view to see if anything is being done to stop it.
Is there a problem with racism internationally?
After some research into the matter of racism in international football. I have realised that it is a problem internationally just as much as here in the U.K, if not even more because of the general separation in races and rivalry between different countries.
The problem of racism in Southern Europe was highlighted when England's black players received mass monkey chants from thousands of fans at the Bernabeu in their friendly game against Spain in November 2004.
There have since been an increasing number of incidents where black players have been racially abused in Spanish football.
These sources have been taken from .
This statement shows that there is a problem in international football and states that there have been increasing numbers of racist incidents. However, unlike the English Premier league, international football is acting against the problem now and has fined football teams for their actions.
In 2004/05, Real Zaragoza were fined 600 euros by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) after a section of their fans directed racist abuse at Barcelona forward, Samuel Eto'o. Athletico Madrid was also fined 600 euros by the RFEF for the racial abuse of Espanyol's Cameroon goalkeeper Carlos Kameni in a league match. Deportivo Coruna, Albacete, and Getafe also received fines for similar incidents in their grounds.
The source below states that there is a problem with racism all over Europe and that racism is seen as everyday life. This should not be the case and something must be done to stop this and someone must explain to countries in Europe and all over the world that racism is not right and it must be eliminated.
In Central and Eastern Europe problems of racism and anti-Semitism in particular, are a part of everyday life. The racist abuse directed at England's black players in the Euro2004 qualifier against Slovakia in 2002 brought the issue to the attention of the international football community.
However, the problem of widespread racism in Central and Eastern European football stadiums had existed long before with black players playing in the domestic Leagues of countries including Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania being subjected to mass monkey chanting and being pelted with bananas every week.
To challenge the problem anti- racism campaigners, ethnic minority communities and some National Football Associations have set up anti- racism campaigns to raise awareness of the problem and encourage fans to stand against racism. This is what should be happening all around the world. Not just punishment for teams, but explanations and encouragement. People need to know that racism is wrong. It should be tackled form a young age, drilled into children’s heads so that they know how to act and behave towards other races respectfully.
Conclusion
In my essay, I have shown that racism is a problem in English Premier League football, and also all around the world. I have shown events and problems on the subject and I have expressed that something must be done to prevent racism. I have answered and proven my own question: Do racist attitudes and behaviour exist within the English premier league and if so how can they be eliminated?
My coursework proves that there is a racist problem in English Premier League football and internationally and that there are people and communities acting against racism to prevent future problems.
Evaluation
- What I did well
I believe I have explained and evaluated international problems with racism and I also think I have collected the correct data needed for my primary research.
- What I need to improve
I need to improve my explanations on what can be done to stop racism and go into more detail of what can be done.
- What I would do differently
If I had the chance, I would go into more detail and depth of my secondary research sources and explain each one with full understanding of the source.
- What my results suggest?
My results clearly suggest that racism is occurring in football all around the world and actions are taking place to stop racism, although, not enough is being done as racism still occurs in football matches in Europe and other parts of the world.
