By David Gold
August 24 – Polish Parliamentarians have discussed the issue of racism following evidence presented to them by the anti-racial prejudice organisation Never Again ahead of next year’s European Championships, which are being held jointly with Ukraine.
In April, Never Again released a report documenting 195 racist incidents across the Euro 2012 host countries, the majority of which took place in Poland.
Dr Rafal Pankowski, coordinator for the East Europe Monitoring Centre, which set up the Never Again association, said: “Polish football is often quite multi-cultural, which is emblematic of broader demographic changes across Europe, but the situation in many stadiums still gives reasons for concern.”
MPs discussed April’s report, and Pankowski emphasises the possibility to use next year’s championships as an opportunity to make significant changes.
“We are implementing a social responsibility project for UEFA Euro 2012 titled RESPECT Diversity – Football Unites,” he explained.
“Educational activities are an important part of the project.”
It is the latest in a series of engagements the organisation has made in recent months in an effort to tackle racism in Eastern Europe.
In July, a session was held in Wroclaw at an international conference to promote equal chances through sport, and in June Never Again, in partnership with Football Against Prejudices Ukraine (FARE) presented their findings at a session of the Council of Europe in Rome.
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