News in 2006

13th March 2006

Euro MP's join call for action to tackle racism

Euro MP's, campaigners and representatives of European football will be joined by the President of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell, tomorrow (14th March) as a formal resolution on racism in the game is adopted.

The one page document has received more signatures than any other previous written resolution of the parliament with 420 MEP's joining the call for action.

NGO's and fan groups from the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network have been lobbying MEP's across the continent over the past three months stressing the urgency of the problem.

Tougher sanctions

The resolution calls on all stakeholders in the game to do more to fight racism and asks for tougher sanctions for racial abuse on and off the pitch. UEFA is urged to introduce sporting sanctions, such as excluding clubs from competitions.

The five MEP's behind the Declaration are Emine Bozkurt MEP (European Socialists Party/Netherlands), Chris Heaton-Harris MEP (European People's/ UK), Cem Ozdemir MEP (Greens/ Germany), Alexander Nuno Alvaro MEP (Liberals and Democrats/ Germany) Claude Moraes MEP (European Socialists/ UK).

The launch at the European Parliament in Strasbourg will be attended by former player Paul Elliott on behalf of the FARE network and William Gaillard the Director of Communications at UEFA.

Momentum

FARE spokesman Piara Powar, today said, "Momentum to tackle the highly visible problems of racism has been growing for some time. In recent weeks we have seen the Pope declare his disgust at events in Italy and a United Nations human rights special investigator raise concerns at the levels of racism in the game.

"Our hope would be that the resolution could play a significant role in encouraging and endorsing action at all levels of Europe, from football administrators to national governments."

Former Chelsea, Celtic and Bari player, Paul Elliott MBE, welcomed the Resolution, "As a player I faced racial abuse on the pitch in a number of different European countries. This is why I am passionate about ensuring that the next generation of players - across the continent and world - do not have to endure the same abuse I did.

"This resolution can help us move forward in tackling racism in the game, making football a welcoming place, wherever we chose to play or watch it."

Fan power achieves results

SRTRC Scotland would like to thank all fans who wrote to their MEPs urging them to back the European declaration - we all have a role to play in kicking racism out of Scotland.