racial abuse - The African Mirror

Jan

2023

Fifa boss shows support for players racially abused in Italy

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has called on fans to "shut up all the racists" after Lecce defender Samuel Umtiti and teammate Lameck Banda were subjected to racial abuse during their home game against Lazio. The match was paused for several minutes while a stadium announcement was made calling for the chance to stop. Infantino showed his support for Umtiti and Zambian Banda in a social media post. "Solidarity with Samuel Umtiti and Lameck Banda - let's shout it loud and clear: No to racism," he wrote as a caption to photos of Umtiti and Banda. FIFA president Gianni Infantino claps…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

England’s Black players face racial abuse after Euro 2020 defeat

SPORT

MICHAEL HOLDEN and MITCH PHILLIPS BLACK players in the England soccer team have been subjected to a storm of online racist abuse after their defeat in the final of Euro 2020, drawing wide condemnation from the squad's manager Gareth Southgate along with royalty and politicians. Marcus Rashford, 23, Jadon Sancho, 21, and Bukayo Saka, 19, were the targets of the abuse after they missed spot-kicks in a penalty shootout with Italy which settled Sunday's final after the game finished as a 1-1 draw. The comments have prompted a police investigation and wide condemnation, although critics accused some ministers of hypocrisy…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Reports of racism, homophobia in UK football soar

LGBT+

RACHEL SAVAGE REPORTS of racist and homophobic abuse at football matches in Britain soared to a record high in the last year, despite the disruption to the season from the coronavirus pandemic. Recorded discrimination in the 2019/20 season at professional games rose 42% to 446, with homophobic abuse almost doubling and reports of racism increasing by 53%, according to Kick It Out, an advocacy group that collates incidents. The rise comes amid global pressure over racism sparked by the Black Lives Matters protests, though advocates and LGBT+ fan groups said it was partly due to fans being more willing to…