FIFA World Congress: first time about racism

At this year’s FIFA World Congress, B.A.F.F.(1) too was able to present its work in the German football fan scene and to call attention to existing racism in German stadiums.

On July 6, FIFA convened its first FIFA Conference against Racism in Argentinian Buenos Aires. In doing this, they called the devil by its name – a courageous move for an old boys’ network like FIFA. But in this country, since last year in late summer, we’ve seen several times that talk of racism only goes as far as vague calls »for tolerance« but not »against the (political) Right« as a whole. If statements are made against the Right, then only »against right-wing violence«. The political Right is apparently only bad here when they stand out – a development that can be seen in the context of society’s general move to the right and the racism often tolerated in daily life.

»For tolerance« against the Right? Dealing with the Right, you think of lots of things, but definitely not tolerance. Without directly dealing with problematic social conditions, there was a »rebellion of the respectable«. During the summer, when there was not much other news, the excesses of the young right-wing hegemony received attention, but the causes were not examined. Looking back, they served instead Schlingensief’s Nazi Theater [theatre production by a Berlin director] and dubious programs for helping people get out of the far-right scene and reintegrating them into society. Arbitrariness rules in the symbolic representation of repressive tolerance, and so it’s not surprising that of all people, it was media stars that »showed their face« in the weekly news magazine, »Stern«, or in the cordoned-off VIP areas at cleverly staged demonstrations: Resistance – take one, smile, and action! What a coincidence that the campaign supported by the federal government in the summer of 2000, »Gesicht zeigen!« (»show your face!«), found its arbitrary counterpart in the theme song of the second »Big Brother« series, »Zeig mir dein Gesicht« (»Show me your face«).

These were the thoughts going through my head on the 14-hour flight to Buenos Aires, because FIFA and its president, Joseph Blatter, can also be accused of lobbying. Especially now, when the opposition against the Swede, Johannsson, was fierce, and the African representatives are disturbed because of the seemingly post-colonial decision that the World Cup 2006 will take place in Germany. On the other hand, the FIFA Congress was also a reaction to the latest racist escalations in Italy, which inspired FIFA to take a look at the situation across the world. Even last year, the FIFA media director, a very nice man named Keith Cooper, told me that FIFA finally has to do something, but that many clubs are simply not ready yet. And so, in spite of all my reservations, an iniatiative that had long been in the planning, and that is largely due to the Cooper’s committment and engagement.

The 7-hour long meeting took place in the grandiose Hilton Hotel. Every one of the 1500 seats in the room was occupied. FIFA’s member countries and Joseph Blatter spoke about the problem of racism in football in their countries with remarkable openness and without resort to the usual empty phrases. They didn’t just point an accusing finger at the fans, but acknowledged that these problems could be found at their own doorsteps. Especially impressive was the speech of the Norwegian representative, who reported on demonstrations across Norway and project ideas inspired by the case of a football fan murdered by Nazis after he spoke in an interview about the Right’s infiltration of the Norwegian fan scene.

FIFA had also invited Pélé, who, because his daughter was sick, was not able to be there in person and had his speech read for him. (It can be read on the net at farenet.org.) Kofi Annan was not there in person, either, and greeted the congress per satellite video. Gunter A. Pilz, well-known here in Germany for his research on violence, called for long-term campaigns and projects rather than shallow lip service and token action. The European Monitoring Center presented, in the internet, the preliminary results of a study on football and racism, in which B.A.F.F. is also involved.

The French world champion, Lilian Thuram, addressed the FIFA representatives in clear terms, which he later summarized as follows: "These people think that we blacks are like monkeys, and so we’re forced to listen to them yell »uh-uh«. People behave like this the world over. To tell the truth, until 100 years ago, renowned white intellectuals argued that blacks are inferior to whites. European countries built their industrial and economic power on the backs of the black people. Fans yelling »uh-uh-uh« is the logical consequence of this culture.

"When it was time for Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) to make their contribution to the conference, it was represented by Kurt (Fairplay, Austria), Piara (Kick Racism out of Football, England) Jolanta (Never again, Polen), Daniela (Unione Italiana Sport per tutti/Progetto Ultra, Italien) and me (B.A.F.F., Association of Active Football Fans). We presented our network, FARE, and the projects we currently have running, for example the antiracist World Cup in Montecchio and B.A.F.F.’s traveling exhibition, »Crime-scene: stadium. Racism and discrimination in German football«, which will open on 7 November in Berlin (at Ver.di, Dudenstr. 10). Of course, we gave an overview of how we see racist tendencies establishing themselves in European stadiums in contrast to globalization. I was allowed to speak German because this was among the official congress languages, and my speech was then translated into 6 other languages. Thus B.A.F.F. made a good impression and we were able to call attention to the fact that racism and discrimination is not just a fan problem, but that structural racism and the sometimes dubious statements uttered by players and officials promote everyday racism in football, too. The football stadium serves right-wing fans and organized neonazis as a stage, on which – as under a magnifying glass – the every-day racism tolerated by society is openly expressed as a part of youth culture. The result of the FIFA Congress was a resolution that FIFA can be proud of and that surpasses by far B.A.F.F.’s old 9-point plan against racism. (It be found on the web at www.fifa.org.) It calls for anti-racism observers in every club, for an anti-racism paragraph and for a dialogue between clubs and fan groups. We’ll see if it’s just another resolution to be filed away and forgotten, or whether the DFB (German Football Association) here in Germany and government policy will fight to get some of these anti-racist ideas, in addition to the conventional fan club’s work, translated into reality.

This report is also online at http://www.uebersteiger.de/54/fare.html

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