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Examples Of Racial Discrimination In Sports

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Abstract The atmosphere surrounding soccer stadiums has changed drastically since the 1970’s and 80’s when racial abuse and discrimination was common. Soccer fans have found matches more family-friendly while authorities have over time introduced measures to improve standard behavior at matches. Despite such efforts, racial discrimination in sports is still evident in today’s world with several forms of discrimination identified ranging from; referee discrimination, customer discrimination and most commonly racial discrimination. Often quoted as the best soccer league in the world, the English Premier league is characterized by a mix of British born talents with around 25% being players from ethnic minority backgrounds. One can argue that the league is one of the most inclusive sports; however, it has its fair share of challenges emanating from racial discrimination. Black, non- White and non-European players have been found to have been discriminated based on their race and color. In the U.S. for instance, the emergence of the MLS as the world’s competitive leagues having received star players from the European leagues with most recently African-born Didier Drogba has brought a new dimension on the league in terms of inclusivity. Racial discrimination has been witnessed in the MLS and thus campaigns to curb the problem have been raised. By analyzing the different forms of racial discrimination and exploring the tools used by racist’s groups ways to curb the problem can be drawn in order to restore fun in soccer.
Key Words: Racism, Soccer,

The oxford dictionary defines racism as antagonism, prejudice and discrimination directed against someone or a group of people of different race basing on their belief or down’s race. Ruth Benedict defines racism as a dogma in which one ethnic group is condemned to inferiority by nature while another group destined to superiority (Monk, Winslade, & Sinclair, 2007, p. 342). While this definition does not outline the basis in which these groups are deemed inferior or superior it is evident over past and present incidences that imagined or real biological differences form the basis in which a distinction is drawn between the superior and inferior groups. It is a

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