News in 2006

03rd November 2006

Belgrade's red card to racism

Last night's UEFA Cup Group A encounter between FK Partizan and AS Livorno Calcio in Belgrade provided a fitting conclusion to the seventh Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network Action Week against racism and intolerance.

Red card to racism
Players from both sides and match officials came on to the pitch in T-shirts bearing the slogan 'Show Racism The Red Card'. They raised a red card for the 12,000 spectators to see, before passing the T-shirts to supporters. Then the teams held a long banner with the slogan 'We don't divide, black/white, we unite' - Partizan's motto in the battle against racism, based on their club colours.

Partizan role
Partizan have willingly taken a role at the forefront of the anti-racism movement, particularly on the domestic scene, because their squad over the past decade has featured players from Africa. Nigerian forward Obiora Odita said: "I have never had a problem in over four years here, but I know that somewhere, somebody is waiting to show their bad side. But we have a strong desire to turn away from such people, and we have been successful so far."

Action Week
The FARE Action Week saw more than 1,000 activities in 37 European countries. A record 14 leagues dedicated matches to the fight against racism, including Austria, Germany, England, Scotland, Belgium, Cyprus, F.Y.R. Macedonia, Malta, Slovenia, Romania and Norway. UEFA has been FARE's partner in tackling racism in football for a number of years. For the FARE Action Week, UEFA's staff team played the Geneva-based HOPE side comprising players of various nationalities.

Source: UEFA