The Ball Is Round and It's Also Black and White

When I think about what a soccer ball looks like, I think of the image displayed here. A black and white ball. It occurred to me, as I was reading an article on how Croatian fans were making racial chants at England striker Emile Heskey, that this could be a metaphor for the coming together of both black and white players of the game. Global diversity. Oh how soccer continues to explain the world.

However, the game is not always that clear cut. There are fans who still make racial chants toward players despite FIFA fines. The Croatia Football Federation was fined 14,920 pounds for their fans' actions in the World Cup Qualifier earlier this month.

FIFA went on record and said that they do not condone racism and if the problem persists, more extreme actions will be taken.

Should there even be a warning system and fines for this kind of behavior? It isn't like this is the first time someone has made a rude chant at a match before.

I have on my right wrist one of the Stand Up/Speak Up wristbands that Thierry Henry pushed with his campaign to stop racism in the game. This campaign started in 2005 but it seems that the publicity for it has been abandoned with no intent to revive it.

Scope of the Problem

The language in the FIFA documents that deal with this issue make it sound like it is something that can allayed with simple fines. Obviously it isn't. There are cases that go back to ethnic abuse as far back as the 1970s in Israel.

While the problem has certainly been accelerating in recent years, it is not limited to just one nation. Much like most individuals associate hooliganism with English football, Eastern Europe in general is considered to be the birthplace of racism in football.

Yet, just like hooligan theories, racism exist in just about every major country that fields a team. It has even moved beyond race in some countries. There are attacks on national origin, religious affiliation, and more than likely political affiliation.

This, just like hooliganism, is not something that should be treated as lightly as FIFA does. The policy is too loose and does not really effect most of these nations. Except for the pooer football associations, a fine here and there is nothing.

The documentation that I have seen from FIFA states that the countys football association will be initially fined and if the action continues,

b) Serious offences may be punished with additional sanctions,
in particular an order to play a match behind closed doors, the
forfeit of a match, a points deduction or disqualification from the
competition.(FIFA Disciplinary Code. Section 3. Article 58. Paragraph 2)

How many teams have ever had this happen though?

I can tell you that the number is low. FIFA rather let the governing bodies within the countries deal with the issue. However, when it comes to national teams, the responsability shouldn't fall to UEFA but FIFA.

Come on, Sepp Blatter, don't drop the ball on this one. This is an issue that will only get worse as time goes on.

Earlier this year in South Africa, there were riots were people were being beat because of their ethnic backgrounds. Over 200 individuals were arrested in Johannesburg alone for charges that ranged from rape to attempted murder. In all, 22 people died from the middle of May through the end of the month. Perhaps some the worst violence came from the case of a man from Mozambique was burned alive after having come to South Africa seeking work to support his family. After the incidents ceased, FIFA stated that they had no need to execute its contingency plan of relocating the cup.

Imagine the backlash that FIFA would have to face if there are racial attacks committed during the games in 2010. No insurance policy in the world could save them from the reality they would have to face.