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A. Draft resolution
(open)
Report | Doc. 14842 | 18 March 2019
Stop hate speech and acts of hatred in sport
Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination
Summary
Hatred and intolerance are rife in today’s Europe and this is reflected in the world of sport, in the form of abusive language, incitation to violence and actual hate crimes, based on all grounds of discrimination including antisemitism, islamophobia, homo- and transphobia, afrophobia, racism, sexism and xenophobia.
Sport has a powerful potential to change mindsets and should be first and foremost an instrument for promoting values such as fair play, mutual respect and tolerance, thus contributing to harmonious living together in diversity.
The Council of Europe has taken action against hate speech in sport, inter alia thanks to the No Hate Speech Movement Campaign, and has established co-operation with UEFA and FIFA to promote human rights, integrity, good governance and non-discrimination in football.
Council of Europe member States should strengthen co-operation with sports organisations in areas including the monitoring and reporting of incidents, as well as information and awareness-raising activities targeting athletes and the general public. In addition, since education is key in preventing hatred and intolerance, special attention should be paid to the role of schools in transmitting the values of tolerance and human dignity.
A. Draft resolution 
(open)1. Hatred and intolerance are
rife in today’s Europe and the world of sport, which reflects society
at large, is not immune to this reality. On the contrary, various
forms of hatred and intolerance, including antisemitism, islamophobia,
homo- and transphobia, racism, afrophobia, sexism and xenophobia,
often find fertile ground in sports arenas, leading to verbal and
physical violence. This interferes with the spirit of competition
that is a natural element of sport, by polluting and perverting
it.
2. Verbal abuse is widespread in the sports environment, in the
form of insults and chants that may amount to hate speech and incitation
to violence. Abuse may also be visual, written or allusive, with
the use of symbolic objects, extremist iconography or the vandalisation
of the opponents’ symbols. These phenomena occur most often in collective
ways, among supporters, but they also take place on the playing
field, involving players, trainers or referees, either as perpetrators
or victims of the abuse.
3. The Parliamentary Assembly condemns hatred and intolerance
in any form and believes that the impact of hate speech should not
be underestimated. While awareness of this issue and the need to
address it has increased in recent years, much remains to be done
to counter it effectively in the sports environment. In addition,
the danger posed by populists and other ideologues attempting to
manipulate sports supporters for electoral and political gain should
be prevented and countered.
4. The Council of Europe has taken action against hate speech
in the area of sport through various activities, in particular through
the Youth Sector’s No Hate Speech Movement campaign, in co-operation
with the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sports (EPAS).
5. The Assembly welcomes the Memoranda of understanding signed
in 2018 between the Council of Europe and the European Union of
Football Associations (UEFA) and the Fédération internationale de
football association (FIFA) as an important basis for co-operation
to promote human rights, integrity, good governance and non-discrimination
in football, which is by far the most popular sport in Europe, and
the fact that the former memorandum explicitly mentions hate speech
among the manifestations of discrimination that State Parties are
required to prevent and combat.
6. The Assembly is aware of the powerful potential that sport
has to change mindsets. It is convinced that sport should be first
and foremost an instrument for promoting and transmitting values
such as fair play, mutual respect and tolerance, in addition to
being a beneficial activity for personal development and health
and a form of entertainment accessible to all. There should be no
space in sport for prejudice and violence, nor for manipulation
of supporters’ sentiments.
7. The Assembly recalls its Resolution 2131 (2016) “Sport for all: a bridge to equality, integration and
social inclusion”, particularly as regards the need for mechanisms
for regular and systematic monitoring of discrimination in the field
of sport
8. The Assembly believes that education is key in preventing
hatred and intolerance, including in the sports environment, and
special attention should be paid to the role of schools in transmitting
the values of tolerance and respect for human dignity.
9. The Assembly supports the Council of Europe Convention on
an Integrated Safety, Security and Service Approach at Football
Matches and Other Sports Events (CETS No. 218) and invites all member
States which have not yet done so to sign and ratify it.
10. In the light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on
the Council of Europe member States to:
10.1. promote research and data collection on hate speech and
hate crime in the sports environment. Data should be comparable
and disaggregated by geographic location, sport, victim and perpetrator distinguishing
between professional and amateur sports players or spectators, and
the grounds of discrimination;
10.2. integrate into their national plans or strategies against
hate speech and hate crime specific measures to address such issues
in the sports environment;
10.3. strengthen co-operation with sports organisations in
areas relevant to hatred and intolerance, including the monitoring
and reporting of incidents, information and awareness-raising activities targeting
athletes, staff and management of sports organisations, as well
as the general public;
10.4. ensure that reporting mechanisms are available for victims
of hate speech and discrimination in the sports environment; both
with a view to protecting victims and to regularly monitoring the phenomenon;
10.5. combat impunity by ensuring consistent implementation
of existing administrative and criminal sanctions for hate speech
in the sports environment and making use of the technologies currently available
on sports grounds to identify perpetrators;
10.6. conduct awareness-raising campaigns targeting the general
public on the dangers posed by hate speech, the reporting mechanisms
available and the importance of countering impunity by reporting incidents;
10.7. integrate sports ethics into school curricula, in the
framework of citizenship education. Provide physical education teachers
and sports trainers with training on detecting and responding to discrimination
and abuse targeting athletes, whether at amateur or professional
level;
10.8. encourage media to provide pluralistic, unbiased information
on athletes, particularly those at higher risk of hatred, and their
performance, and to report accurately and without bias on hate speech incidents
and hate crimes.
11. The Assembly calls on sports federations and other sports
organisations to:
11.1. integrate
equality and non-discrimination into their activities and promote
democratic values; prevent and combat hate speech and, to this end,
strengthen co-operation with supporters clubs, civil society organisations,
the media and educational institutions;
11.2. appoint outstanding athletes as ambassadors for equality
and non-discrimination;
11.3. require all players to formally commit to abstaining
from hate speech and manifestations of hatred and intolerance;
11.4. provide all players and staff members with training on
how to identify, prevent and counter hate speech and intolerance;
11.5. promote educational programmes for sports supporters and
fan clubs in order to prevent hate speech in stadiums during matches.
12. The Assembly underlines that sport should not only be a matter
of competition, but also an environment in which people of all origins
and walks of life can find a common ground and interact harmoniously
in diversity.
B. Explanatory memorandum by Mr Goran Beus Richembergh, rapporteur
(open)1. Introduction
1. Violence is no stranger to
the world of sport in Europe. In fact, verbal violence is common
in and around sports fields and is often so serious as to amount
to hate speech and incitation to further violence.
2. Verbal abuse, in the form of insults and chants, includes
the use of racial and xenophobic slurs as well as expressions of
misogyny and homophobia. Manifestations of hatred may also be allusive,
in written or visual form, with the use of symbols and objects (for
instance the setting on fire of a dummy wearing the opposite team’s
kit, or of other items carrying the rivals’ flag).
3. This phenomenon may occur in collective ways among sports
supporters, often escalating into severe forms of violence, but
it also takes place on the playing field, involving players, trainers
or referees, as perpetrators or targets of abuse.
4. Increased attention has been paid to hate speech and acts
of hatred in sport in recent years and measures have been taken
in several Council of Europe member States to counter phenomena
more or less directly relevant to it, and which are certainly detrimental
to sport, such as hooliganism.
5. The Council of Europe is committed to raising awareness of
this issue and identifying countermeasures. Recently, in Resolution 2200 (2018) on good football governance, the
Parliamentary Assembly took a stance on the issues affecting football,
by far the most popular sport, referring, among other things, to
violence and racist speech, sexual harassment and gender discrimination.
the
Parliamentary Assembly took a stance on the issues affecting football,
by far the most popular sport, referring, among other things, to
violence and racist speech, sexual harassment and gender discrimination.6. The Council of Europe’s Youth Sector has worked on hate speech
for years, particularly through the No Hate Speech Movement, an
online youth campaign for human rights which aims to develop youth
participation and citizenship. In November 2017, the No Hate Speech
Movement and the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sports (EPAS) held
a joint workshop in Sarajevo on Combating Hate Speech in Sport,
bringing together youth and sports officials, researchers and policy
makers to analyse hate speech in sport and propose appropriate measures.
7. Sport is and should always be an instrument for promoting
and transmitting values such as mutual respect and tolerance, in
addition to being an activity to promote health and a form of entertainment
accessible to all. There should be no place in sport for racist,
xenophobic, sexist or homo- or transphobic ideas, nor for manipulation
of supporters’ sentiments for political gain.
8. Existing forms of prejudice, such as xenophobia and misogyny
among many others, seem to find a particularly fertile ground in
sports arenas. They interfere with the spirit of competition that
is a natural element of sport, polluting and perverting it. Manipulation
of supporters also plays a role: populists and other ideologues seek
in sports fans a critical mass of people that may help them achieve
political and electoral results.
9. This report is based on desk research, several hearings and
a questionnaire sent out to the National Olympic Committees of Council
of Europe member States. The replies received from the committees
(only five of them) show that there is a lack of awareness of hate
phenomena in sport.
10. The aim of this report is to raise awareness of these issues
and of the need to address them. This is an opportunity to contribute
to building a world of sport that is increasingly safe, open and
inclusive, and which is instrumental in promoting peaceful coexistence
in Europe and the fundamental values of democracy and human rights.
2. The world of sport today: challenges and potential
11. At the hearing held in Paris
on 5 June 2018, the expert Aleksandra Knežević gave the Committee
on Equality and Non-Discrimination an overview of the situation
of sports, intolerance and discrimination in Europe, presenting
both the benefits of sport and the challenges that it currently
faces.
12. Sport is vital for the harmonious development of young people
and is beneficial to physical, emotional and social well-being at
any age. Research shows that sport helps children to develop self-esteem
and reduces the risk of stress, anxiety and depression. Physical
activity also teaches young people social skills, improves interaction,
provides a sense of acceptance and belonging, and makes interpersonal
communication easier.
13. Sport is also positive from a social point of view, both in
the sense that it transmits positive values such as fair play, team
spirit and the respect of rules, and that it is a constructive way
of spending leisure time, reducing the risk of alcohol and substance
abuse.
14. All these beneficial effects cannot be taken for granted and
are only produced when sport is practised appropriately. Discussing
the best way to deal with sports, or physical education in schools,
does not fall within the scope of this report. However, it should
be highlighted that discrimination based on whatever ground, harassment
and hatred jeopardise the positive effect of sport. Sadly, as already
mentioned, hate speech and intolerance are increasingly contaminating
the world of sport. We should endeavour to better understand these phenomena
in order to counter them effectively.
15. The world of sport reflects the inequalities and grounds of
discrimination existing in society in general. Gender inequality,
for instance, is even more conspicuous in this environment: women’s
participation, media visibility, leadership and remuneration simply
do not compare to men’s. Hate speech, especially based on ethnic
prejudice, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, is rife.
Ms Knežević indicated, for instance, that being called “gay” is
one of the most common insults in the sports environment, implying
that a player is not performing well.
16. Motives of discrimination and hate differ to some extent across
geographic regions. In the Balkans, for instance, xenophobic prejudice
is the main motive, while racism is more present in western European
societies. Physical violence can be witnessed on the sports field
(among players) and around it (implicating supporters) and can at
least partly be considered as a consequence of hate speech.
17. Intervening in the area of sports with a view to countering
these phenomena means facing up to some challenges: while sport
can be practised at school in the form of physical education, it
is increasingly practised privately as an extracurricular activity,
its cost being borne by the family, therefore becoming a luxury.
The commercial side of sports, with expensive contracts for the
best ranking athletes and a focus on advertising and on the sale
of broadcasting rights, is prevailing. The lack of funds to support
sports activities for “ordinary” athletes is also a challenge. This
“commercialisation” of sport is diminishing its educational function
and socially positive impact. However, popular athletes are very
influential and their role in conveying positive messages should
be further promoted.
3. Racism, intolerance and hate speech in sport today
18. I draw on the research conducted
by Ms Knežević to say that all the main forms of hate speech and hatred
are currently present in sport. Acts of hatred are generally committed
by supporters, targeting either other supporters or players, and
are based on all grounds of discrimination. I will list a few examples.
– Hate speech based on ethnic origin
19. On 19 February 2017, in Serbia,
supporters of the Football Club Rad offended Luis Everton, a player
of Partizan, greeting him with monkey cries due to his dark skin.
The Football Federation of Serbia sanctioned FC Rad (two matches
to be played behind closed doors). In April 2014, in Spain, supporters
of Villareal threw a banana at FC Barcelona player Dani Alves. The
Villareal Club was fined, while the perpetrator was banned for life
from football stadiums.
20. The Fare Network (Football against Racism in Europe), an international
umbrella organisation with members in over 45 countries, reports
regularly on its website (www.farenet.org) about hundreds of registered racist, homophobic, gender-based
and xenophobic incidents on sports fields, in Europe and beyond.
On 19 June 2017, for instance, Fare reported that 89 incidents motivated
by racism and far-right extremism had taken place at Russian football
games in the 2016-17 season, according to data collected by the
Moscow-based SOVA Centre. SOVA’s latest Annual Report also reported
that the Russian authorities had banned at least 191 fans from attending
sports events. In addition, the Russian Football Union (RFU) expelled
the influential fan leader Alexander Shprygin, who had been deported
twice from France following violence at the Russia-England match
at the European Championship, and who was known to be a sympathiser
of the far-right.
21. Numerous racist comments were noted and reported in many countries
after the French National Football Team won the 2018 World Cup in
Russia. Most of them were found in social media, following inappropriate
reports in some printed newspapers (for instance Italy’s La Repubblica) and TV Shows (such
as Trevor Noah's The Daily Show, in the United States), as well
as in the comments by some politicians, spreading hate speech against
the ethnic origin of the French footballers. The Warsaw-based Centre
for Monitoring Racist and Xenophobic Behaviour registered numerous
racist posts on Polish social media. According to what the Head
of the centre, Mr Konrad Dilkowski, told the AFP Agency, racist
comments and posts were noted under each news item published online,
not only after the final match in Moscow between France and Croatia but
also after Poland lost to Senegal in the group stage of the World
Cup on 19 June.
22. According to the data collected by Fare, around 20 serious
racist and xenophobic incidents occurred in November 2018 in several
European countries. They highlighted in particular:
“3 November 2018 – English Championship: Middlesbrough v. Stoke City
A group of Middlesbrough fans sang a sectarian song and directed racist slurs towards Stoke player James McClean at the end of the match.
3 November 2018 – Bill Hill Cup: Pelsall United FC v. Real Aston FC
The non-league cup match was abandoned after Pelsall United players racially abused several Real Aston players, with midfielder Shaq Ajmal being physically attacked.
8 November 2018 – UEFA Europa League: Apollon Limassol v. Eintracht Frankfurt
A group of Apollon Limassol fans performed Nazi salutes and directed racist slurs towards Eintracht Frankfurt’s black players during the match.”
– Nationalism/xenophobia
23. In November 2013, in Croatia,
at the end of the qualification game for the 2014 World Cup, domestic player
Josip Šimunić shouted nationalist slogans which were offending for
neighbouring countries. Šimunić was banned for 10 international
matches and a 30 000 CHF fine was imposed by the Fédération internationale de
football association (FIFA). In 2016, Šimunić lodged a complaint
at the Constitutional Court, which was rejected, and he then applied
to the European Court of Human Rights; in January 2019, the Court
declared the application inadmissible. It is important to mention
that the decision, among other things, reads: “The applicant, being
a famous football player and a role-model for many football fans,
should have been aware of the possible negative impact of provocative
chanting on spectators’ behaviour and should have abstained from
such conduct.”
– Homophobic and gender-related abuse
24. Kaster Semenija, a South African
female athlete, was repeatedly abused and humiliated, including
by the media, and even physically assaulted, for her alleged masculine
nature and appearance. On 21 November 2016, in Spain, during the
Atlético Madrid-Real Madrid derby, football player Cristiano Ronaldo
was insulted by another player called Koke, who called him a “rich
faggot”. Koke was shown the yellow card. Later, invited to apologise
publicly, he refused to comment. Numerous athletes in various sports
have denounced the pervasive homophobia in their environment. Unlike
other grounds of discrimination, homophobia is as prevalent among
fellow athletes as it is among spectators. Some players “came out”
as gay only at the end of their career, explaining that it would
not have been possible to do it earlier, especially in team sports.
This situation requires specific measures.
25. Here is an excerpt from the Fare monthly report for November
2018:
“23 November 2018 – Veronica Inside: Johan Derksen
Football Commentator Johan Derksen made homophobic comments on TV show Veronica Inside relating to a petition by the Royal Dutch Football Association to make football stadiums more gay-friendly.
23 November 2018 – FC Basel
FC Basel has been accused of sexism after the women’s team were not invited to club’s 125th anniversary gala dinner but sold raffle tickets at the event to fund their team.
24 November 2018 – The English FA Cup: Poole Town v. Dorking Wanderers
A group of Poole Town fans directed homophobic slurs towards Dorking Wanderers players during the match.”
– Politically based hate speech
26. Political tensions between
communities are often reflected on sports fields through hate speech
and abuse. Examples abound, particularly from countries that have
experienced a collapse, such as the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.
They also show how verbal violence may easily escalate to other
forms of violence. An extreme case was the match between Dinamo
Zagreb and Red Star Belgrade on 13 May 1990, referred to by some
as “the match that started a war”. Nationalist abuse started by
the two clubs’ supporters escalated into riots both in and outside
the ground. While Yugoslavia was already on the brink of war, this episode
is considered to have triggered the conflict. The importance of
football, and sport in general, as a mirror and a catalyser of the
tensions of society at large should not be underestimated. That
is why countering hate speech and other manifestations of hatred
on the sports field is crucial. As football writer Dave Roth says,
“the game of May 13th, 1990 proved that, for better or worse, football
can be more than a game”.
4. From hate speech to hate crimes
27. As already mentioned, verbal
abuse may pave the way for physical violence and hate speech may
lead to hate crimes. I will mention one more example from the Balkans:
on 11 June 2016 in the Serbian capital, a person was killed during
a riot involving over 100 supporters of rival Belgrade clubs Crvena
Zvezda and Partizan. The perpetrator was never identified. Examples
can also be found in other countries and other sports. Tennis player
Monika Seles, for instance, was the victim of a knife attack in
Germany in 1993 that was interpreted by some as a xenophobic hate
crime.
28. The link between hate speech and other forms of violence is
also highlighted by the report published yearly since 2014 by Assocalciatori,
an Italian association of football players, based on the cases of
verbal abuse, intimidation and physical attacks on athletes. The
report underlines that verbal abuse paves the way for other forms
of violence, with intimidation and threats being the link.
29. The report is a good example of data collection and analysis,
as it includes figures on the incidents disaggregated by geographic
area, status of the victim (professional or amateur) and the type
of perpetrator. It is interesting to note that in about 50% of cases,
the perpetrators are a team’s own supporters, while opponents’ supporters
are perpetrators in approximately 35% of cases. The data also shows
that some Italian regions are considerably more affected than others.
The various causes of abuse and intimidation are also worth noting:
racism concerns over one third of cases, the rest being shared among
other motivations that are mostly related to competition, such as
losing a game or the risk of relegation. Collecting reliable, disaggregated and
comparable data helps to understand the phenomenon and its evolution
and is crucial for tackling it.
5. Council of Europe action on hatred in sports
30. Hate speech is a threat to
human dignity and fundamental freedoms: as such, it is the subject
of a lot of attention by the Council of Europe’s various bodies
and departments. Within their respective remits, and often through
joint activities, they all work to counter this scourge, including
in the area of sport specifically. In this report, I will present
the actors and their main activities. The list is not exhaustive,
as it focuses on those most relevant to the subject of this report.
– The Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport
31. The Enlarged Partial Agreement
on Sport (EPAS) is a platform for intergovernmental co-operation
in the area of sport, based on the values of the Council of Europe,
notably the prohibition of discrimination, and the rights enshrined
in the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5). EPAS was
established in 2007 and from the start identified promoting diversity
as one of its main priorities. Its projects and events have addressed
issues related to participation in sport, including discrimination
based on gender, race, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation.
EPAS regularly organises Council of Europe Conferences of Ministers responsible
for Sport. Six of these high-level conferences have taken place
so far, leading to discussions and the adoption of resolutions on
issues ranging from corruption in sports governance to match fixing
and gender equality in sport. In my view, given the increasing phenomenon
of hate speech, attention should be paid specifically to this issue,
in the context of the more general work on equality and non-discrimination
in sport on the occasion of the ministerial conferences. The last
conference took place in Georgia on 16 October 2018.
– Council of Europe conventions
32. The Council of Europe has adopted
several international treaties on sport. The European Convention
on Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour at Sports Events and in particular
at Football Matches (ETS No. 120), which opened for signature in
1985 and entered into force on 1 November 1985, was the first international
legal text to react to the tragic events at the Heysel stadium in
Belgium. The Parties undertake to co-operate with each other (while
encouraging similar co-operation between public authorities and
independent sports organisations) to prevent and control violence
and misbehaviour by spectators at sports events.
33. Based on the experience of decades of implementation of the
1985 Convention, a new Council of Europe Convention on an Integrated
Safety, Security and Service Approach at Football Matches and Other
Sports Events (CETS No. 218) was negotiated, opening for signature
in June 2016 and entering into force on 1 November 2017. The idea
behind this text is to go beyond a violence-focused approach, and
to switch to an integrated approach based on the three elements
indicated in the title – safety, security and service. The other main
innovation is the multi-agency approach: no single stakeholder,
such as the police, should be expected to address alone safety and
security of sports events – a range of agencies or actors must be
involved. Article 5 on “Safety, security and service in sports stadiums”
stipulates that the Parties shall “incorporate clear policies and
procedures on matters that might impact on crowd management and
associated safety and security risks” and refers in particular to
“any violent or other prohibited behaviour; and any racist or other
discriminatory behaviour”. This wording is general enough to cover
hate speech and acts of hatred. It is important that the interpretation
and implementation of this text at national level takes into account
the need to address these issues. While this provision applies specifically
to sports stadiums, I would like to highlight that hate speech in sport
does not only take place in sports grounds, but also in other physical
spaces, in the media (traditional and social media alike), and beyond.
– The No Hate Speech Movement
34. The No Hate Speech Movement
was a campaign launched in 2013 by the Council of Europe’s Youth Sector,
aimed at combating hate speech, particularly online. Led by the
Council of Europe until 2017, the campaign remains active in the
majority of member States thanks to national committees based on
co-operation between civil society, particularly youth organisations,
and public authorities.
35. The various departments of the Council of Europe often co-operate
and carry out joint activities to fight hate speech. This was the
case on 21 and 22 November 2017, when a workshop on “Combating hate
speech in sport” was held in Sarajevo at the initiative of the Council
of Europe’s Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport and the Youth Sector,
together with the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Thanks to the participation of experts and sports organisations,
especially but not exclusively from the region, the workshop proved
fruitful both in describing the state of affairs (different manifestations
of hatred, people affected, measures taken to counter it) and in
formulating recommendations (respectively addressed to the Council
of Europe/EPAS, the European Union, sports education authorities
and finally national, regional and local authorities).
– ECRI
36. In 2008, the European Commission
against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) adopted its General Policy Recommendation
No. 12 on Combating racism and racial discrimination in the field
of sport. The preamble of this recommendation highlights a series
of principles that should be shared by all those who are active
in the field of sport, and that as rapporteur I certainly aim to
support. The text reads: “The fundamental values of sport which
include fair play, friendly rivalry, mutual respect and tolerance
should be at the heart of any sporting activity” and “[t]he protection
against racism and racial discrimination is a human right, which
must be secured also in the field of sport”. Importantly, it adds
that “[t]he general public should be involved in the fight against racism
and intolerance in sport, in a spirit of international solidarity
and friendship”, which I consider a useful indication for legislators,
policy makers and civil society representatives alike. Indeed, the
general public should not only be on the receiving end of information
and awareness-raising activities but should also get involved and
actively promote tolerance and inclusion in sports. The preamble
also states that “[s]port not only has a role in education and socialisation,
but it can also help to explore and celebrate diversity”. In addition
to regretting the existence of racial discrimination in sport and
condemning all manifestations of racism, xenophobia, antisemitism
and intolerance, I deem it important that the general policy recommendation
rejects “any attempt to trivialize racist acts committed during
sports events”. Indeed, today racism is too often trivialised. We
should not be caught off guard, distracted by the misleading tendency
to underplay abusive language targeting minorities. While the threshold
of hate speech is a thin line, we should be vigilant and try to be
restrictive about what is acceptable, including in the world of
sport.
37. General Policy Recommendation No. 12 sets out a wide range
of measures to combat racism and racial discrimination in the area
of sport, which include adequate legal provisions to combat racial
discrimination and to penalise racist acts and provide training
to police forces to enable them to identify, prevent and deal with racist
behaviour on and around sports fields.
– Memorandum of understanding between the Council of Europe and UEFA
38. In May 2018, Council of Europe
Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland and the President of the European Union
of Football Associations (UEFA), Aleksander Čeferin, signed a Memorandum
of Understanding to strengthen co-operation and implement common
strategies in four main areas:
- human rights, integrity and governance in sport;
- safety and security at football matches;
- mutual co-operation in the preparation of major football events;
- institutional co-operation.
39. The tools envisaged by this text are regular dialogue between
the two organisations, joint initiatives, exchanges of good practice
and targeted projects. As the opening paragraph of the Memorandum
states, “[t]he Council of Europe and UEFA share a number of values
and principles such as respect for human rights and dignity, democracy,
non-discrimination, cultural diversity, tolerance, sustainability,
solidarity, ethics in sport and a commitment to good-governance”.
In line with the reference to dignity, cultural diversity and tolerance,
the text indicates that “[p]articular efforts will aim at … taking
all necessary steps to prevent and combat any kind of racist violence,
racism or other form of institutional or social discrimination,
including hate speech”.
40. The Memorandum does not create rights or obligations under
international or domestic law, and “[e]ach party will manage its
own budget” (paragraph 3.2). However, “[e]ach Party will endeavour
to promote and implement to the fullest the detailed objectives
and strategies of co-operation determined in accordance with this
Memorandum and the Co-operation Plan” (paragraph 3.4). A co-operation
plan and a road map will be adopted every two years and the two
organisations will jointly review their co-operation.
41. The concrete activities that will be jointly planned and carried
out will determine the actual scope and outreach of co-operation
between the Council of Europe and UEFA. The language of the Memorandum
of Understanding is encouraging and shows that both parties are
convinced that sport may play an important role in combating racism
and hate speech, and that they intend to exploit such potential.
We can expect this co-operation to be fruitful and to have a positive
impact. The Assembly should stand ready to support it, whether by
participating in joint activities or giving them visibility within
its remit.
– Memorandum of understanding between the Council of Europe and FIFA
42. On 5 October 2018, a Memorandum
of Understanding between the Council of Europe and FIFA was also
signed in Strasbourg. The Memorandum mentions under “basis of co-operation”,
among other things, that “[f]ootball is intended for all citizens,
regardless of gender, race, age, disability, religion, nationality,
sexual orientation and social background. Diversity must be promoted
in and through sport and any kind of discrimination – either institutional
or social – must be rejected”. It also indicates in the section
on areas and objectives of co-operation that “[p]articular efforts
will aim at: combatting violence against women and promoting gender
equality, including by further developing a gender sensitive approach
in policies and measures and countering gender stereotypes and sociocultural
barriers” and “preventing and combating discrimination of any kind
in football”. In view of the immense popularity of football in Europe,
the potential impact of activities carried out in co-operation with
the Council of Europe is considerable. This initiative deserves
full political support and follow-up.
– Texts adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly
43. The Parliamentary Assembly
has adopted several texts relating to sport. Resolution 2199 (2018) “Towards a framework for modern sports governance” is
relevant, among other things, to the subject of this report. In
his explanatory memorandum, rapporteur Mogens Jensen refers to violence
and to racist speech among the criminal activities that have tarnished
the image of sport in recent years, together with doping, manipulation
of results, corruption, illegal betting, financial malpractices
and tax evasion. In this text, the Assembly commends the initiatives
taken by national and international sports governing bodies to introduce codes
and standards of good governance; it urges for the development and
implementation of a solid set of harmonised good governance criteria;
and it “sees the necessity to build on the same set of harmonised
good governance criteria a Council of Europe convention on good
governance in sport. This new convention could complement the existing
conventional basis covering doping, match-fixing and spectator violence”.
Council of Europe conventions, often negotiated at the initiative
of the Parliamentary Assembly, have contributed to shaping international
and domestic law in Europe in a variety of areas, including sport.
The idea of a new convention complementing the existing legal framework
on sport should be strongly supported. Such a text should include
provisions aimed at preventing and prosecuting hate speech and acts
of hatred, and protecting victims.
44. The starting point of Resolution
2131 (2016) “Sport for all: a bridge to equality, integration and
social inclusion” is the observation that “sport plays an important
role for social cohesion by providing opportunities for people of
different genders, abilities and nationalities or from different
cultures to meet and exchange ideas, thereby strengthening the culture
of ‘living together’”; however, “sport for all is not yet a reality”.
The Assembly therefore recommends that member States refocus the
priorities of their sports policies by taking into account the possible
impact of sport on “health, social cohesion, education, youth, non-discrimination,
and the reception and integration of migrants”. Among the measures
recommended by this text there is the establishment of “mechanisms
for regular and systematic monitoring of discrimination in the field
of sport, including incidents of discrimination based on a person’s
disability, racial, cultural or ethnic identity, age, religion,
sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or sexual
characteristics, in order to improve risk analysis in this area, explore
targeted prevention strategies, facilitate the lodging of individual
complaints and ensure that they are properly investigated”.
6. Consultation of national Olympic committees
45. At the meeting held in Paris
on 19 September 2018, I presented a questionnaire to be submitted
to sports organisations, which was shortly afterwards sent out to
the national Olympic committees of Council of Europe member States.
46. The aim of the questionnaire was to collect information on
the nature of hate speech and hate crimes in the world of sport,
including information on the individuals and groups targeted by
hate speech and hate crime, and the measures adopted to tackle these
phenomena.
47. The number of replies to the questionnaire was limited (five
national committees provided feedback: Cyprus, Finland, Germany,
Greece and Hungary), but their content was interesting. The underwhelming reaction
might be viewed as relevant information in itself. It could, in
other words, be interpreted as a sign of insufficient awareness
or interest of sports organisations in the issues at stake. However,
taking into account “survey fatigue” (individuals and organisations
are constantly asked to report on their activities, provide information
or share their views on a variety of subjects by both private and
public interlocutors, which is consuming in time and resources),
the meaning of the low number of replies should probably not be overplayed.
48. This report also presents a few examples of good practices
in the area of preventing hatred and promoting inclusion in sport.
6.1. Main findings
49. The main elements that the
questionnaire sent to national Olympic committees aimed to collect
was the prevalence and nature of hate speech and hate crime in sport
in Council of Europe member States, the existence of relevant and
specific provisions and sanctions in sports regulations and whether
they had been enforced, and the measures taken to counter such phenomena.
The committees were also asked whether they themselves were directly
involved in any of these activities.
50. The replies provided show widely varying levels of awareness
of the phenomenon and of commitment to tackling it. In one case,
almost all answers are negative or not available: no indications
are given on the number of incidents or on whether there has been
an increase in the number of incidents, nor have the grounds of
discrimination involved been detailed. Information on sanctions
and on policies are also not available. However, the committee concerned
expresses the opinion that the actors that may contribute to preventing hate
speech are the media, and the tools that should be used are those
of the media. Another committee indicates clearly that hate speech
and crime do not concern the world of sport in general, but only
football. Incidents are considered to happen “occasionally”, to
be decreasing and to be systematically based (100% of cases) on
grounds of national or ethnic origin or religion. The National Football
Federation deals with these incidents and possibly sanctions the
perpetrators. The Olympic committee is not involved in policies
against hate phenomena.
51. Although there is no consensus, there are some similarities
in the indications of the actors that may have a positive impact
on the prevention of hatred in sports. Media and professional athletes
are considered potentially effective allies by four out of the five
respondents. Sports club management is mentioned three times. Actors
mentioned only once or twice are the leaders of supporters’ groups,
referees and trainers, as well as amateur athletes. One respondent
also mentions the athletes’ parents, listed under “others” as they
were not among the choice of responses.
52. The National Olympic Committee of Finland does not have figures
to share on the overall number of incidents, the grounds of discrimination
concerned or whether they are on the rise or falling, due to the
fact that data management is not centralised by them. Each sports
federation keeps records of its own disciplinary cases. Hate speech
and hate crimes as such are covered by criminal law provisions rather
than sports federations’ regulations. However, discrimination and
discriminatory speech are mentioned in the rules or disciplinary
guidelines of sports federations. Sanctions are applied accordingly:
cases of discrimination and use of discriminatory language are sanctioned
by the relevant sports federations. More severe cases, amounting to
hate speech and even hate crimes, are handled by the police and
the judiciary.
53. The Finnish committee explains that raising awareness of equality
and non-discrimination and building a more positive and accepting
atmosphere is their main focus, and they consider it to be far more
useful than countering negative behaviour. In their view, it is
more useful to build bridges between different kinds of people and
try to make those who tend to discriminate change their views. Sanctions
are not necessarily instrumental in educating, and often make perpetrators
more hostile and difficult to reach. Several large sports organisations in
the country are enforcing equality strategies. In line with these
principles, the committee has participated in events such as the
Helsinki Pride and “Against Racism!”, an event comprising music,
games and activities for children that opened the Week Against Racism
in March 2017.
54. In Germany, the questionnaire was processed by the Deutsche
Sportjugend (DSJ), the German sports organisation for youth, and
therefore the information is more specifically focused on youth.
The DSJ does not collect or process data as these are dealt with
at regional level and are not transmitted to the central level for reasons
of legal data protection. Therefore, the organisation did not provide
information on the prevalence of hate speech incidents and hate
crimes, but this does not mean that it does not take these issues
seriously. The DSJ explicitly states in its “Youth Code” that it
advocates human rights and religious and ideological tolerance, as
well as gender equality, and it “promotes the unprejudiced encounter
of young people in sport, regardless of their origin, nationality,
ethnicity, ideology, gender, sexual orientation, group membership
or disability”. This organisation carries out information and training
activities, including training of trainers who will go on to teach democratic
values and anti-discrimination to young people taking part in sports
activities. The DSJ is a member of the Sport and Politics for Fairness,
Respect and Human Dignity Network, which includes sports organisations
and public institutions, working together against right-wing extremism
and all forms of discrimination
55. As regards the actors that may have the most impact, our German
interlocutors indicate a wide range of them, including sports clubs
and organisations as well as public and law-enforcement authorities
and the media.
56. The National Olympic Committee of Greece also pays a lot of
attention to hate phenomena and was able to provide detailed information.
The committee considers that incidents happen “very often” and that
they are on the increase. Specific provisions are laid out by the
Laws on sports of 1999 and 2015, rather than in sports federations’
regulations. The laws states in particular that “[i]n serious cases
of incidents, racist behaviours, and sports-related violence in
general, on or off the field, the Minister responsible for Sport,
through reasoned decisions based on proposals put forward by the
Standing Committee for the Treatment of Violence, may impose on
the relevant sports clubs, the Department of Paid Athletes and the
Athletic Société Anonyme, as well as on the relevant sports federations
and/or professional associations, but also individually to natural persons,
fines of ten thousand (10 000) to one million (1 000 000) euros.
In particularly serious cases it may also withdraw the existing
specific sporting recognition”. In addition, draft legislation currently
under preparation contains provisions describing in detail behaviour
to be penally sanctioned (throwing objects onto the playing field,
owning or using objects that may cause bodily injury, entering the
sports field to interfere with the game, displaying slogans or images
of abusive or racist content, using laser pointers targeting athletes,
referees or coaches or spectators). Sanctions include imprisonment
of at least six months and a fine. Up to now, sanctions have been
imposed by the Minister responsible for Sport, through motivated
decisions based on proposals put forward by the Standing Committee
for the Treatment of Violence.
57. The Hellenic Olympic Committee considers that prevention and
awareness-raising at an early age are the most powerful tools, and
therefore it works with the National Academy of Greece to carry
out educational programmes in schools with the aim of raising children's
awareness of the issue of violence in sport.
6.2. Good practices: education and awareness-raising activities in Europe
58. Thanks to an increasing awareness
of the need to tackle hate speech and hate crime in sport, a variety of
activities are carried out in Council of Europe member States. I
would like to mention a few of them, starting with the examples
described by the national Olympic committees that replied to our
questionnaire (in particular Finland and Greece).
59. In Greece, the committee co-operates with the Hellenic Olympic
Academy to carry out two pilot projects on the issue of hate speech
in sport, aimed at children in the 6th grade, as part of the Olympic
Values education programme. The first project focuses on managing
the emotions of athletes after a defeat of their team. The defeated
teams are called to face their defeat calmly and without throwing
responsibility for their failure onto fellow team mates, especially
if they are foreigners, immigrants, socially disadvantaged or part
of a religious minority group. Through theatrical representations
of virtual interviews with journalists, children express themselves
with positive words and do self-criticism without negative or offensive
remarks about their teammates. About 350 students from three schools
have taken part in this pilot activity. The other project, called
“Non-Violence Relay”, includes performances against hate speech,
such as creating a human chain across a stadium to convey verbal
messages based on Olympic values such as friendship, equality, respect, brotherhood,
solidarity, coexistence and democracy. This activity was held in
Athens with the participation of about 100 students from two schools.
60. The Hellenic Olympic Academy in co-operation with Hellenic
Olympic Committee is also planning to implement a project on non-violence
in sport, first in sports clubs and then in schools. The underlying
idea is that violence as a social phenomenon is strongly influenced
by the socio-economic environment but is mainly a learned behaviour.
Therefore, people can revisit their behaviour and learn to be non-violent,
responsible and respectful of all members of society. Sadly, as
the Academy highlights, violence in schools and sporting events is
increasing, and so are its negative effects on young people. The
forthcoming programme will focus on children and teenagers’ personal
development, emotional intelligence, empowerment and skills development. The
aim is to have young people experience a personal change by using
“the power of suggestion that makes us change our habits”. At the
end of the first three-year period, an operational model will have
been developed and the programme could be replicated in new contexts.
61. In Finland, the Olympic Committee is currently working on
a policy to improve the inclusion of transgender and intersex people
in sport. In addition, the University of Jyväskylä, in 2018, started
a three-year research project called PREACT that is set to study
harassment and other forms of discrimination in sport, focusing
in particular on discrimination based on gender identity and sexual
orientation. The project is led by sports psychologist Dr Marja
Kokkonen and has a three-fold scientific objective: to examine the
different types of discrimination (including harassment) in sport
and in schools, to investigate the attitudes towards gender and sexual
diversity in Finnish, British and Singaporean sports cultures, and
to explore relevant practices and experiences in school physical
education and sports club training.
62. Football vs Homophobia is an international campaign first
launched in the United Kingdom that challenges discrimination based
on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression at all levels
in football. Based on visibility, information and awareness-raising
activities in and around the football ground, this campaign is an
excellent example of how “to realise the potential of football in
society as a tool to create positive change”, to use the words of
the promoters.
63. November 2018, Glasgow Rangers Football Club officially recognised
Ibrox Pride, a supporters group established by members of the lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community. This group
aims to provide a social focal point for LGBTI supporters and at
the same time it acts as an advisory group to the Rangers on LGBTI
issues in football. The launch of this group is one more example
of this football club’s successful efforts to create an inclusive
environment among its supporters. In 2018, representatives of the
Rangers had marched at the Pride Glasgow Parade.
64. The Rangers had previously adopted a “Diversity and inclusion
Charter”, which certainly represents a “good practice” in the area
of anti-discrimination in sport. The foreword of the Charter states
that “all fans should feel welcome and safe at football regardless
of age, disability, gender, ethnicity, race, faith, sexual orientation or
any other equality characteristic” and commits the Rangers Football
Club to “promoting equality, valuing diversity and combating unfair
treatment throughout our organisation, supporters and staff”. The
Charter not only states principles, it also, under the heading “legal
obligations”, includes formal commitments, including one that is
particularly relevant to this report: “The organisation takes a
zero-tolerance approach to harassment, victimisation or bullying.”
The Charter also contains provisions on its own implementation,
requiring that a copy of it be published on the club’s website and
that the club’s board is accountable for ensuring that the policy
is observed. Is also sets forth that the club must provide training
activities for its players, fans, staff and board members in order
to raise awareness on collective and individual responsibilities
in the area of non-discrimination.
65. Mr Carlo Balestri of the UISP (Unione Italiana Sport per Tutti
– Italian Union of Sport for All), who contributed to the hearing
held in Paris on 19 September 2018, presented the experience of
the “Anti-Racism World Cup”, an annual multisport tournament in
its 22nd year which sees the participation of athletes from Europe
and beyond. The last edition of the event saw over 5 000 people
gathering together in a campsite for four days, with sports matches,
concerts and debates. Competition is not the main aim of this tournament,
and sports rules are modified to decrease the level of antagonism,
with teams exchanging members or being created on the spot, the
absence of referees and exchanges of gifts before the match. Sport
was used mainly as a tool to enable people to meet and get to know
each other. The Anti-Racism World Cup has inspired a large number
of events in Europe and beyond and can rightly be considered as
a “good practice”.
66. These examples show that hatred can be prevented and addressed
in a variety of ways and that different actors may help to achieve
successful activities. The contribution of academic institutions
is often crucial, as educational activities require adequate research
and the use of pedagogical techniques.
7. Conclusions and recommendations
67. The contributions from experts
and sports organisations, as well as the research work conducted
thus far, have led me to the conclusion that while there is a growing
awareness of and attention paid to hate speech and hate crimes in
the world of sport, the information available lacks detail and figures.
Further research is therefore necessary. Public authorities should
take charge of this, possibly in co-operation with civil society organisations
and academia.
68. In addition, legal definitions of hate speech and hate crime,
as well as reporting systems, vary across Council of Europe member
States. Harmonisation would make preventing and countering these
phenomena more effective.
69. On the other hand, I have identified some useful practices
that could be recommended to all Council of Europe member States.
The contribution of a variety of actors is required to prevent and
combat hate speech and hate crime. Sports clubs and organisations
have a crucial role to play, as they work in direct contact with and
may have a significant impact on both athletes and their supporters.
The impact of legislation and policies should not be underestimated
either.
– Council of Europe conventions
70. The Assembly should reiterate
some indications contained in recent adopted texts and complete
them with additional elements. Resolution 2199 (2018) “Towards a framework for modern sports governance”,
for instance, supports the idea of a new Council of Europe convention
on good governance in sport to cover doping, match-fixing and spectator
violence. In the light of the widespread hate phenomena in the area
of sport, such a convention should also include provisions aimed
at preventing and countering hate speech and hate crime, and protecting
victims. The idea of promoting monitoring of discrimination in sport,
as indicated by Resolution
2131 (2016), should also be reiterated.
– Reporting and data collection
71. It is important to make sure
that reporting systems are made available to victims of hate speech.
As some instances of abuse or stigmatising language may not amount
to criminal offences, reporting them to law- enforcement services
would not be appropriate. However, specialised services run either
by the public authorities or by civil society organisations or other
actors may ensure that such cases are taken into account, with a
view to responding to them and helping victims. Law-enforcement
officers should be provided with training on hate crime, to ensure
adequate skills in detecting, responding to and filing reports on
hate crimes. A comprehensive and sustainable hate crime recording
system should also be established.
– Awareness-raising, information and training
72. Prevention should be an important
part of anti-hatred policies. To this end, education, information
and awareness raising are crucial. Sport ethics but also human rights
and citizenship education should be part of school curricula. In
addition, physical education teachers and sports trainers should
be trained to detect and respond to discrimination and abuse targeting
athletes, whether at amateur or professional level. The media also
have an important role to play in preventing hate phenomena. They
should provide pluralistic, unbiased information as regards athletes,
particularly those at higher risk of hatred, and their performance.
They should also report objectively on hate speech incidents and
hate crimes.
73. Encouraging school pupils to achieve high results in sports
shouldn't overshadow the importance of promoting the numerous benefits
of physical activity and fair play. Therefore, success and good
marks in physical education cannot depend exclusively on formal
sports results but also on individual efforts and dedication, taking
into account the objective and subjective circumstances that may
limit performance. Children and young people should not feel excluded
from or deprived of sport but should be welcomed and included, taking
into account to their abilities and skills. They should not be singled
out as potential targets of hate speech or discrimination by fellow
pupils or peers because of lower achievements in sport.
– Co-operation
74. Public authorities should engage
in dialogue and co-operation with sports federations and sports supporter
organisations and encourage them to integrate and promote democratic
values, equality and non-discrimination, as well as to prevent and
combat hate speech. Sports federations and individual clubs should also
be encouraged to appoint outstanding athletes as ambassadors for
equality and non-discrimination.