November 5 – The issue of black players boycotting the 2018 World Cup in Russia because of racism has been raised once again, this time by renowned anti-apartheid campaigner Tokyo Sexwale who is a key FIFA adviser.
Sexwale, a former South African government minister and one-time political prisoner on Robben Island, is against a boycott per se but says there are now simply too many instances of racism in Russian football.
“There is a threat black players will say they are not going to Russia (for the World Cup) – we can’t have that,” Sexwale told Associated Press. “I am talking as a FIFA person and a citizen of the world – it can’t go that far … Once these things start and you don’t act as leaders, these things snowball.”
Sexwale, who is an adviser to FIFA’s anti-racism task force and has served on a number of FIFA committees, wants Russian president Vladimir Putin to intervene personally. “Show that leadership,” said Sexwale. “Failure to do so, we could be talking something different about the 2018 World Cup … you will have people saying they will not go to Russia.”
Russian World Cup organisers insist racism is not institutionalised and no worse than in some other countries but UEFA have issued a string of sanctions against Russian clubs and matters came to a head last week when FC Rostov coach Igor Gamula said he wouldn’t sign a defender from Cameroon because the club has “enough dark-skinned players, we’ve got six of the things.”
Gamula subsequently apologized but Sexwale said that wasn’t enough and South African Football Association president Danny Jordaan has written to FIFA President Sepp Blatter “expressing concerns”, according to Sexwale.
“For the Russian federation to be seen to be serious we need them to take stern action,” Sexwale said. “The world took stern action against South Africa (over apartheid), it was expelled from FIFA.
“If these ultra-ring elements have their way they are threatening the World Cup. The authorities have got to come down on the perpetrators, otherwise the authority is now going to be boycotted by the victim because people will lose confidence in the Russian federation.”
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