While Uefa is on the move after racist outbursts at the Bulgaria-England match in Sofia, the incident highlights the difficulty football's governing bodies are having in combating racism in an age of the rise of the extreme right and the renewal of ideas from the 30s.
After the racist outbursts of Bulgarian fans at the Bulgaria-England match, the governing football bodies must impose heavier penalties in order to defeat racism in football stadiums, the world media write, but also point to the challenges in eradicating racism at the time of the rise of the extreme right and nationalism in European societies. .
UEFA on the move
After the shameful night of racist insults in Sofia, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) must now impose serious penalties, the British Guardian (The Guardian) assesses in an editorial comment.
Even before the players of Bulgaria and England stepped onto the field of Sofia's Vasil Levski stadium, their qualifying match for the European Championship became a test of something far more important than sportsmanship, the Guardian points out, adding that parts of the stadium were closed due to earlier incidents of racial abuse at international matches. matches.
Related Articles
Dark-skinned footballer Tammy Abraham's warning that England would consider leaving the field if he was racist again drew the ire of Bulgarian Football Federation president Borislav Mihailov, who said Bulgaria had less of a problem with racism than England and that Abraham's comments were "disparaging" and "offensive". ".
Abraham's statement proved to be far-sighted, as England's black players were chanted monkey chants and other insults from part of the crowd, while far-right fans repeatedly repeated Nazi salutes, according to the Guardian. A special target was Tyrone Mings, as he stopped and looked at the stands where the worst insults were coming from.
The shameful spectacle filled with hatred inevitably raised the question of whether the match should have been stopped, the Guardian points out and adds that Uefa must start introducing significant sanctions where there is a pattern of repeating racist insults in stadiums, up to the exclusion of clubs and countries from the competition. UEFA President Aleksandar Čeferin said that the fight against racism requires the help of governments and the entire "football family", which is true, but, as the liberal newspaper points out, he has the ability to impose serious sanctions and that it is time to introduce them.
At the match in Sofia, the protocol for racism was applied, but it must not stop there, the British conservative newspaper The Times points out.
UEFA's protocol in the case of racism in the match has existed since 2009, but has never been fully implemented, the Times points out and explains that three steps are foreseen. First, the match is stopped and the stadium management has to read a statement calling on the crowd in the stadium to stop insulting. The next step is a temporary suspension and sending the players to the locker room. The last step is to stop the match completely.
The first step came into effect when England's dark-skinned footballer Tyrone Mings warned the linesman about racial slurs. The announcement was read and then two minutes before half time, the game was stopped again. The English players gathered on the field and decided that it was better to continue until the break and then reassess the situation. A phalanx of black-clad youths, many of whom gave Nazi salutes, were ejected from the stadium, according to the Times. After the break, the insults continued, but with less intensity.
To that extent, the protocol has made a difference and can be counted as a partial success, but that does not mean that the matter can remain there, the Times assesses, pointing out that football authorities have a history of leniency when it comes to dealing with racism. In 2004, FIFA fined Spain 50.000 euros for insulting two English black players. The Serbian Football Association was fined 75.000 euros in 2012 after England's youth team was subjected to racist abuse, and Montenegro was forced to play in an empty stadium after fans racially abused English players.
Bulgaria, the Times points out, has a special problem, since racism already tarnished a match in Sofia in 2011, after which a fine of 40.000 euros followed. Kicking Bulgaria out of the current round of the competition is one possibility, but the country has no chance of qualifying for next year's championship anyway. A more severe penalty would be that he cannot participate in the qualifiers for the next championship and every one after that until he shows that he can eradicate the problem.
Extreme politicians and extreme fans
The incident in Sofia, however, points to the difficulty of governing football bodies - Fifa and UEFA - in suppressing racist insults against players of a different skin color at a time when far-right forces are on the rise around the world, the New York Times assesses.
Monday night's episode also renewed concerns about the consequences of hate speech on society and politics more broadly, the newspaper added. In Bulgaria, as in other Central European countries, groups that attack migrants also often attack Roma and other ethnic minorities.
Uefa president Ceferin blamed the rise of nationalism in Europe for encouraging racist behavior among fans, the paper said, adding that despite efforts to eradicate discrimination, episodes of racist insults have marked matches in France, Italy, Slovakia and other European countries.
After the game, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov forced the resignation of the head of the Bulgarian football federation, but insulting black players is not too much of a surprise for Borisov and many other Bulgarians, the New York Times points out, and indicates that hate speech has entered the mainstream in Central Europe with the rise of nationalist parties in recent years. .
In Bulgaria, as in many European countries, the most extreme political groups strive to connect - if not officially, then ideologically - with the most extreme football fans, the New York newspaper underlines. But in Bulgaria, some of the most extreme voices can be found in the government, since Borisov included three ultra-nationalist parties in the ruling coalition in order to stay in power in 2017. Some of their members called for violence against migrants, insulted women and made disgusting statements, which the prime minister tolerated in order to maintain the ruling coalition.
Borisov condemned the behavior of some soccer fans, saying it was "unacceptable" for Bulgaria, which he said was one of the most tolerant countries in the world, to be associated with racism. After Borisov's pressure, the head of the football federation resigned, while the police searched the federation's office.
Bulgarian police have identified 15 fans who are suspected of racially insulting English players, while six of them have been arrested, according to Agence France-Presse.
The match was attended by 15.000 people, as part of the stadium was partially closed as punishment for racist outbursts during matches against Kosovo and the Czech Republic in June.
The coach of the Bulgarian national team, Krasimir Balakov, who first claimed that he had heard nothing controversial at the game, apologized to the English players late on Tuesday.
The scandal divided Bulgarians, AFP points out. While many took to social media to apologize for the problem permeating the country, others refused to identify with the perpetrators and criticized British media reports for calling Bulgarians "racists" and "animals".
Uefa announced the launch of an investigation into the behavior of both Bulgarian and English fans.
A wider European phenomenon
The reason that England encountered a racist ambush goes far beyond UEFA's inability to punish offending countries, assesses the Daily Telegraph, adding that English players are flooded by a wider wave of European politics.
Dejected people existed even before the rise of so-called populism and they will be in football stadiums when, and if, the current nationalistic regression stops. But what England faced on Monday night was on another level - a seemingly planned infiltration by a gang of shaven heads dressed in black and making Nazi gestures, the Telegraph reports.
Aside from the topic of Eastern European xenophobia, Telegraf points out, it is worth remembering that a quarter of all arrests for terrorism in Great Britain last year were related to extreme right-wing violence. Also, the newspaper adds, there are toxic nationalists among English fans and we need to understand the connection between the distorted patriotism of some English fans and its ultimate mutation – the opening of dark paths towards the 30s of the 20th century.
Previously repressed attitudes are now being openly expressed and that path leads "from individual idiots to organized hatred" that England had to face, the British newspaper assesses, adding that Bulgaria is the place where it ends if fascist ideas - or their variations - are allowed. – to return to the mainstream. In Bulgaria, great political unrest was evident at the match, and the authorities showed no urge to stop it, Telegraf points out, with the assessment that this is encouraging extremism and its apologists.
The Bulgarian episode should be seen as an expression of a wider European phenomenon, an incredibly dangerous stumbling towards the ideas that flourished in the 30s of the 20th century. Those ideas develop when there is not enough will to stop and rise from the grave, Telegraf points out. It is not just about qualifying for the European Championship, as it contains all the characteristics that define a generational struggle.
Bonus video:
