By Andrew Warshaw
May 3 – How short-sighted can you get? Pescara’s former Ghanaian midfielder Sulley Muntari has been banned for one game by the Italian FA for walking off the pitch complaining of racist abuse despite being praised by the United Nations’ top human rights official.
Muntari took his action at the weekend late in the game against Calgliari in protest at fans hurling racist abuse at him – and was booked for his troubles when asking the referee to halt the fixture.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein reacted by calling Muntari an “inspiration” and declaring that racism in football required “added attention or deepened attention by FIFA,” which last year disbanded its anti-discrimination watchdog body amid global concern.
Italian football’s disciplinary committee, whilst agreeing the action of the fans was “deplorable” said its guidelines meant it could not impose sanctions as only “approximately 10” supporters were involved – fewer than 1% of the Cagliari supporters in the ground.
Muntari had complained several times about racist chanting but after being booked was subsequently issued with a second yellow card for abandoning the pitch without the referee’s permission.
His one-game ban came just as the international players union FIFpro backed their man and urged the Italian authorities to take the opposite action.
“We urge Italian authorities to hear Muntari’s version of events, investigate why the situation was mismanaged, and take firm action to ensure this never happens again,” FIFpro said in a statement.
“Muntari was well within his rights to approach the referee, as the first point of reference, to make his grievances known and seek a solution … Professional footballers should expect to be adequately protected by the relevant authorities.”
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