Zero Tolerance: The Fight to End Racism in Soccer

If you were paying attention during this week's round of Champions League matches, you would have noticed a TV spot put on by UEFA, the governing body of soccer in Europe, featuring the game's global superstars, past and present, male and female, all saying the words "no to racism" in their respective native tongues. For the first time, prior to kickoff, that spot was also aired in stadiums across the continent.

Not long ago, getting a message in front of more eyes would have represented a positive step for UEFA, proof that it was at least aware of the sport's continuous and deep-seated problems with racism. For much of the last decade, awareness was about all you could expect from UEFA: a banner; a TV spot; a statement read, haltingly, by a club captain. But last week's matches included a sign that times had changed, and that sign was far more powerful than a 30 second video: CSKA Moscow hosted Manchester City in a nearly-empty stadium, part of a three-match ban UEFA issued after repeated racist incidents at CSKA's home stadium.

"We've been lobbying for a long time for the change in regulations, for UEFA to take issues of discrimination far more seriously," Piara Powar, the executive director of FARE Network, an NGO that works closely with UEFA on issues of discrimination, said by phone. (FARE co-produced the above spot.)

That change finally happened in May of last year, when UEFA adopted a "zero tolerance" policy for clubs whose fans engage in discriminatory activities. Penalties for clubs found guilty of racism include partial or total stadium closures as well as fines that can get well into the six-figure range. CSKA's stadium closure was highly visible, but the team is only one of many clubs across Europe sanctioned in this way. Through September, there were at least 11 stadium bans handed down across Europe this season, according to FARE's records. (UEFA told VICE Sports it does not keep statistics on incidents involving racism.)

"Before May 2013, we had the situation where there were lots of fines, and the fines were often 2,000 Euros, 5,000, 10,000 perhaps," said Power. "That was really nothing for a club playing in the Champions League or a club in the Europa League, because they get far more than that in prize money per match."

The new sanctions have received a mixed response. Some clubs and fan groups argue that many are being punished for the actions of a few. True as that may be, Powar argues that it has always been the case in soccer: "If your chairman oversteps concerning regulations on financial fair play, the whole club will suffer, and it's the same with the behavior of fans."

On the other side of the issue are teams like Real Madrid. UEFA ordered the European Champions to close part of its stadium for one match after an incident last season during its semifinal win over Bayern Munich. According to Powar, the team responded by educating its fans about the new regulations. "Real Madrid have gone farther than we would by identifying [the offending parties] and sending out an advisory to their fans about what is acceptable and what is not acceptable," he said. It's this kind of education that Powar hopes will affect long-term, cultural change, one that leads people to view stadiums like they do other public spaces where racism is far more taboo.

However, it will take time before we can properly evaluate UEFA's new, stricter measures against racism. "I think we're making progress," said Powar. "There's a great deal of awareness now of the need to tackle discrimination in football."

Thus far at least, it seems that UEFA's policy is making advances against European soccer's shadow culture of racism by forcing fans to answer a simple question: Which do you love more, soccer or racism?