By David Gold
June 29 – The captains of the teams taking part in the 2012 European Championship semi-finals this week have helped to battle racism by speaking out before their respective games.
Spanish captain Iker Casillas (pictured above, centre) and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo both spoke out against racism before their semi-final, which the Spanish won on penalties.
Germany’s Philip Lahm and Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon (pictured below) did the same ahead of their clash, which Italy won 2-1.
In addition to that, supporters at both stadiums produced choreographed displays ahead of kick off with the word “Respect” to underline the importance of the fight against racism.
Euro 2012, taking place in Ukraine and Poland, has been dogged by a series of incidents.
Although many feared that home supporters would cause problems of a racist nature, ironically others have done so instead.
Spain themselves have been fined for alleged racist behaviour and chanting by fans, as were Russia.
Croatia (supporters pictured above) have also been given a financial sanction for displaying “racist banners” when they played Spain in the group stage of the competition.
The gestures at the semi-finals are part of the Respect Diversity – Football Unites campaign, conducted by Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE).
This network is coordinated by the Polish based Never Again Association which seeks to promote understanding and educate people, especially youngsters, against racial prejudices.
The initiative was launched at the start of the tournament, and two FARE international observers have been present at every match, with 2,500 public areas declared as Inclusivity Zones.
As part of the efforts to ensure a trouble free competition, 80,000 police officers and stewards received anti-discrimination training to identify and tackle abuse in the stands.
“As Euro 2012, the biggest sporting event ever held in Eastern and Central Europe, reaches its latter stages we are pleased that the message of anti-discrimination will be centre stage through the Respect Diversity activities,” said Rafal Pankowski, the coordinator of the programme.
“We hope that the whole of Europe can join us in sharing our vision of a society that is free from prejudice and enriched by all of our diversities.
“We also believe that one of the legacies from hosting the Euro here will be a greater understanding of the gravity of intolerance and a renewed commitment, in words and action, to build inclusive progressive societies.”
UEFA is supporting the initiative with a jersey exchange to promote the idea of diversity among supporters, enlisting the help of some of the game’s biggest names, such as former Netherlands star Clarence Seedorf, legendary Denmark goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and one of the game’s most respected ex-referees, Italy’s Pierluigi Collina, to help support the anti-racism campaign.
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