Football | Racism scars European football with sanctions still often weak

As monkey chants boomed around the Italian foot- ball stadium, Sulley Muntari became more incensed.

The Ghanaian player sought out the referee and asked for intervention to silence the fans hurling racist abuse. Referees have the power to stop games and have warning messages amplified arounds stadiums. Nothing like that happened, though, during Sunday’s Serie A game on the island of Sardinia.

Instead Muntari, exacerbated by the referee’s indifference, repeatedly pointed at his skin color.

The veteran Pescara midfielder’s protests were apparently ignored, and it further complaints from Muntari in the second half for the referee finally to act at Cagliari.

But what happened next has enraged players and anti-discrimination campaigners. Far from being protected by the referee, Muntari was booked for dissent. Aghast, Muntari walked off and was booked again for leaving the field without following procedures — his two yellow cards amounting to a red, and ejection from the game.

Even when the incident was reviewed in the following days, Italian soccer authorities sided with Cagliari against Muntari. The 32-year-old former Inter and AC Milan midfielder was handed a one-match ban for receiving two yellow cards. Cagliari escaped punishment because Serie A’s disciplinary body said only 10 fans were to blame.

“Only a callous commission disciplinary would ignore the full picture of what went on here,” Piara Powar, executive director of the anti-discrimination Fare Network, told The Associated Press. “It’s set a very dangerous precedent. There are recurring incidents and the Italian football authorities are not dealing with them in the right way.”

Muntari’s case hasn’t been the only one in recent days. Both Inter Milan and Lazio were found guilty by Serie A’s disciplinary division after fans bellowed racist abuse during games. The punishment for both teams was having parts of their stadiums closed — but only if there is a repeat of the conduct.

For Powar, who advises European football’s governing body on discrimination, these cases demonstrate a complete “failure of the regulatory processes.”

It’s not a problem confined to one or two countries.

“It’s endemic across Europe at the moment,” Powar said.

The disciplinary department at European soccer’s governing body has also been clamping down on racist chanting in continental fixtures. Serbia was warned in March by UEFA that its teams could be kicked out of European competitions for further infractions by fans. Croatia has also been targeted in the UEFA crackdown, along with teams from Italy, Hungary Poland and Ukraine.

The pressing concern is Russia, host of the 2018 World Cup where there have been persistent reports of discriminatory displays and chants. Former Chelsea midfielder Alexei Smertin was put in charge of investigating soccer racism in Russia in February despite previously declaring: “There’s no racism in Russia.”  Rob Harris, AP