Poland - 2012
Sport: Racism, racist violence and hate speech in sporting venues (and reporting and policing thereof)?
- Code:
- RED124
- Key Area:
- Public Life, Culture, Sport & Media
- Strand(s):
- Racism
Short Answer |
Racist incidents are rare in most sports, except for football. Most of the positive initiatives regarding racism in sport are undertaken by the Never Again Association, which conducts its activities under the slogan Let’s Kick Racism out of Stadiums. |
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Qualitative Info |
Racist incidents are rare in most sports, except for football, where they are much more common. In the case of other sports some single incidents have been observed (speed racing, basketball). Several types of racist incidents recurring at Polish football stadiums may be distinguished. The first one includes acts directed against players of darker skin colour which consist in making hooting sounds to imitate those produced by monkeys whenever they have the ball, throwing bananas at them and calling them names. Also, some several physical attacks on black players have been reported. Second type of incidents directed against all ‘foreign’ players consist in shouting racist slogans, hanging banners with such slogans as well as adding Nazi symbols and stylistics to the club flags and banners. Another type of incidents includes behaviour of anti-Semitic character (shouts, chants, notices).
Sources: Ministry of interior Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment Never Again Association Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights |
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Groups affected/interested | Migrants, Ethnic minorities, Religious minorities | |||||||
Type (R/D) | Anti-migrant/xenophobia, Anti-semitism, Afrophobia, Nationalism | |||||||
Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas | Sport, Anti-racism | |||||||
External Url | http://www.msw.gov.pl/portal/pl/2/8818/Nie__dla_rasizmu_w_sporcie.html, http://www.nigdywiecej.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27 | |||||||
Situation(s) |
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Short Answer |
Racist incidents are rare in most sports, except for football. Most of the positive initiatives regarding racism in sport are undertaken by the Never Again Association, which conducts its activities under the slogan Let’s Kick Racism out of Stadiums. |
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Qualitative Info |
Racist incidents are rare in most sports, except for football, where they are much more common. In the case of other sports some single incidents have been observed (speed racing, basketball). Several types of racist incidents recurring at Polish football stadiums may be distinguished. The first one includes acts directed against players of darker skin colour which consist in making hooting sounds to imitate those produced by monkeys whenever they have the ball, throwing bananas at them and calling them names. Also, some several physical attacks on black players have been reported. Second type of incidents directed against all ‘foreign’ players consist in shouting racist slogans, hanging banners with such slogans as well as adding Nazi symbols and stylistics to the club flags and banners. Another type of incidents includes behaviour of anti-Semitic character (shouts, chants, notices).
The fears of dangerous acts of racism occurring at the championship in Poland were not confirmed. Indeed, such incidents took place, yet they can be considered single hooligans incidents rather than a mass action against foreign teams.
The biggest sport venue in Poland in 2012 was football world cup – EURO 2012. One of the initiatives aiming at preventing racist or discriminatory practices during matches was the Respect Diversity project. It was implemented by the FARE network, co-ordinated by the Never Again Association. The initiative, launched at the start of the tournament, saw two FARE international observers present at every match, up to 2,500 public areas declared as Inclusive Zones to provide welcoming spaces across Poland and Ukraine, a fan zone in four languages and a tour of Streetkick, a mobile football game with an anti-discrimination message. Besides, over 80,000 police officers and stewards in Poland and Ukraine also received anti-discrimination training to help them identify and prevent discriminatory chants, symbols and behaviour. Sources:
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Groups affected/interested | Migrants, Ethnic minorities, Religious minorities | |||||||
Type (R/D) | Anti-migrant/xenophobia, Anti-semitism, Afrophobia, Nationalism | |||||||
Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas | Sport, Anti-racism | |||||||
External Url | http://www.msw.gov.pl/portal/pl/2/8818/Nie__dla_rasizmu_w_sporcie.html, http://www.nigdywiecej.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27 | |||||||
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