The English football community does not intend to improve their procedures for handling racist abuse, even though the president of Fifa, Gianni Infantino, has suggested that teams whose fans engage in racist behavior should automatically forfeit their games.
The decision on how to proceed in the case of a cancellation is up to each competition. The typical procedure followed internationally is to rearrange the matches, and it is unlikely that the Premier League, English Football League, or Football Association would deviate from this without agreement in the English football community.
Following recent incidents of racism in Serie A and the Championship, FIFA president Infantino has emphasized the importance of addressing abuse. The established protocol involves three steps: first, the referee is notified of any abuse; then, if it persists, the teams are temporarily removed from the field; and finally, if the abuse continues upon the teams’ return, the players are removed again and the match is abandoned.
On Saturday, Milan decided to leave the game against Udinese due to continuous mistreatment of their goalkeeper, Mike Maignan, by the home fans. However, they eventually returned to the field and finished the match. In the EFL, play was temporarily halted at Sheffield Wednesday when Coventry midfielder Kasey Palmer reported being subjected to monkey gestures from the crowd.
Infantino stated that a protocol must be established for penalizing teams whose supporters engage in racist behavior, resulting in the abandonment of a match. This may include imposing global stadium bans and pressing criminal charges against those responsible for such acts. Udinese has also announced their intention to permanently ban any attendees found guilty of racially harassing Maignan.
Infantino’s statement will be met with approval by numerous individuals involved in the sport. Ian Wright, who shared his thoughts on X, expressed the widespread frustration with the lack of progress in eliminating racism from football stadiums. In response to the Maignan incident, Wright stated, “We should continue to walk off!! We have tried ‘playing through it’ and nothing has improved. Points deductions are necessary, as fines are ineffective.”
According to Law 7.5 of the rules set by the International Football Association Board, a match that is abandoned will be replayed unless the organizers or competition rules state otherwise.
In recent years, the FA, Premier League, and EFL have been working together more closely to address issues of disorder. In 2022, they came to a mutual agreement on how to handle the increasing occurrence of pitch invasions and objects being thrown onto the field. Any changes to the three-stage protocol and abandonment procedures would also need to be collectively decided upon.
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Omar Beckles, chair of the Professional Footballers’ Association, said: “Our members want to see real, consistent and significant consequences for racist abuse, both for the individuals who are responsible and for clubs who fail to get a grip of the issue within their stadiums. The reality is that players don’t believe this is happening. The responsibility for what happens next lies with the authorities.”
Source: theguardian.com
