Racism in euroropean football Essay

Medieval football matches involved hundreds of players, and were essentially pitched battles between the young men of rival villages and towns often used as opportunities to settle old feuds, personal arguments and land disputes. The much more disciplined game introduced to continental Europe in 1900s was the reformed pastime of the British aristocracy. Other European countries adopted this form of the game, associated with Victorian values of fair-play and retrained enthusiasm. Only two periods in British history have been relatively free of football-related violence: the inter-war years and the decade following the Second World War. Recently it seems more and more becoming that racism is beginning to damage the reputation of the game. Racism isn’t directed at players simply because of their skin colour; players are also targeted because of their nationality, religion or ethnicity. Some players may be targeted by football supporters more because they play for an opposing team rather than their appearance or heritage. However, some players and managers have even been targeted by their own fans. The purpose of this report is to understand the current situation of racism within football, and look at what is begin done to help rid the game of it. With numerous governing bodies contained by sport, it is key to understanding what the main bodies choose to do to help endorse the fight against racism. It seems as though it is becoming more and more of a human rights issue, as players endure the direct racism from not only fans but club management teams.