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How should clubs react to racism in football? An incident in central Switzerland brings the question back to the table.
It was just after 9:30 last Saturday night when the referee showed the red card at the “Tierpark” sports facility in Goldau, Switzerland. A free kick in the 74th minute in the 4th league game between SC Goldau and FC Rotkreuz, Goldau is in the lead, but now a Red Cross striker is on the ground.
What happens then comes unexpectedly: an older SC Goldau fan runs screaming onto the field, parting ways with a Goldau player who wants to hold him back. “He yelled at our forward that he was fouled and accused him of faking,” says Alen Krizevac, FC Rotkreuz coach. The man looked violent, several Goldauer players should have held him down.
“Insults that will no longer be acceptable in 2020”
Instead of being assaulted, the man then verbally addressed him, says Krizevac: “He racially insulted our player, who is dark skinned. I needed insults that are simply not acceptable anymore in 2020. “The offending player was scared, shaking and had tears in his eyes.
Coach Krizevac and his Red Cross team do not hesitate, they refuse to continue playing. The referee has no choice but to leave the game.
The association is investigating, but talks about an individual case
Afterwards, everyone agreed: incidents like the one on Saturday are not acceptable; SC Goldau has also made it clear that they do not tolerate racist comments from their fans. Bloss: How should you react?
The Swiss Central Football Association (ISV) does not see any fundamental problem of racism. There has never been a case like this in his twelve-year tenure, says the association’s president, Urs Dickerhof.
It announces a detailed investigation, does not rule out sanctions, from a game suspension for SC Goldau to buses to the possibility of FC Rotkreuz winning the game on Saturday in hindsight. But: The “standard procedure” is completely sufficient, says Dickerhof. No special procedure for racism is necessary, as there are practically no racist incidents in clubs.
“A problem in football through the band”
Is there no racism problem in football? Dina Wyler sees it differently. She is the CEO of the Foundation Against Racism and Anti-Semitism and says: “There is a problem across the board. We keep hearing about racist incidents in sport, especially in football, from Bellinzona, through Dübendorf and Zurich to Kriens. “
According to Wyler, all divisions are affected, not necessarily the lower leagues. “At best, the inhibition threshold for racist statements is a little lower in the lower leagues, as there are fewer people in the games and the media is less interested,” he says. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t incidents in the top leagues.
These incidents can be fought by associations and clubs that counter them, he says. “FC Rotkreuz’s reaction on Saturday was a strong signal, and SC Goldau has distanced itself from their fans,” says Dina Wyler. Clubs and individual athletes have great potential to influence the debate on racism by taking a clear position.
