One of the most popular sports in Jamaica is football. The vociferous yet thrilling sound of ‘GOALLL’ as the ball surges past the hands of the goalkeeper and into the net is one we are all too familiar with. It is no wonder that football is sometimes called the beautiful sport. Sadly, in some countries, the beautiful sport is not so beautiful. Recently, UEFA had to enforce sanctions against Bulgaria and Romania for racism. 

Bulgaria received its sanction as a result of behaviour displayed during a match against the Czech Republic. Racist comments were made by the fans, and the players, who were just eager to play the sport they loved, had to face the discrimination. For Romania, it was mainly because of the incidents in the European Under-21 championship. 

We have heard stories from players like Balotelli and others of different ethnicities. I still feel the disgust I felt when I heard how they threw bananas at Balo, calling him a monkey and then criticizing him for getting upset about the incident. How could a man not get angry after facing degradation by the very same fans he plays so hard for? 

How long will the racism last?

The cases aren’t as few as you think, either. There have been cases that have been dropped such as the one with Latvia. Fines also had to be issued to countries like Romania, Ukraine, and Greece in recent times for very similar reasons. I am glad that the governing bodies of football are taking measures, but fining the teams just isn’t enough. Why should the country or teams suffer for the individual fans who behave deplorably? I am sure the entire country isn’t racist, or at least I hope, and the fines aren’t affecting the people who are actually guilty of the act. The people who are caught behaving in a racist manner need to be singled out and banned from the matches, or have some other measure implemented against them to show them that racism is not okay.

Sports would be so lovely if we took the race out of it. The only race we need to talk about are the races on the sprinting track or on the asphalt. It is high time we address the ubiquity that is racism, and sport is a great place to start. Sports should be the one place where differences are celebrated, not for controversial reasons but for the divides that come in supporting different teams. Sports is about camaraderie and enjoying life for other reasons than colour. The only colour we need to care about are the reds and blues of the Man Us and Chelseas. It is time to stop ruining the beautiful game. Let’s end racism in the sport now!

— Fabrizio Darby