BBC1 Spotlight: Are we racist? - Northern Ireland

BBCs Stephen Nolan asks viewers in Northern Ireland - ARE WE RACIST? Here's what he found out.

Racism: suits you, sir?
In tonight's Spotlight Stephen Nolan asks if we are racist in Northern Ireland. Here, through a series of observations, Stephen asks whether the real problem lurks among the middle class?
24 October 2006

I can't stand London. I fly there every week now and as soon as I get into one of those awful underground tube carriages, squeezed against a pompous, smelly stockbroker type, I realise how lucky I am to live in Northern Ireland.

We are ahead of the game here, we have a much better quality of life and I can't think of anything that appeals to me about England … except one thing.

London is a much more culturally diverse city than Belfast. People from all different backgrounds saunter down the streets of London without turning heads; they might not smile at each other, they might not acknowledge each other, but at least nobody takes any notice if they are Black, or Chinese, or Indian.

Is that really the case in Northern Ireland? Well, you tell me. I've spent the last couple of weeks filming for BBC Northern Ireland's Spotlight programme trying to ask if we really are racist in Northern Ireland. There have been plenty of headlines in news programmes like mine recently to suggest we are. From bricks thrown through the windows of migrant workers' homes in Dungannon, to a home for two Latvian men attacked in Lisburn. There are numerous stories like these but, as usual, the cowards who do this skulk away, unchallenged.

Where are the police? Surely this is too predictable for a question. Where the hell are the good, decent, local people? Nothing happens in these tight-knit communities without someone, somewhere noticing it.

There is an intricate web of spotters in Northern Ireland … a social network comprising curtain twitchers, nosey neighbours and those who make it their business to spot everything that happens on their turf. Except, none of them has reported to the police the wasters who daub 'Poles Out' on wall murals, none of the locals report the identities of the 'brave men' who throw petrol bombs through windows of immigrants and then run off into the dark.

On Spotlight tonight, you will hear from those who feel entitled to label all Eastern Europeans as dangerous people, one man in particular will even remind a Polish woman that she is only a visitor in his country. The fact that the woman has lived here for 10 years passed over his head. More importantly, though, this woman is more than capable of taking him on as you will see on tonight's programme.

We need to strike a balance in this discussion though. As usual the lunatics who chuck bricks have grabbed the racism headlines, but the vast majority of people I've met on the streets want Northern Ireland to be an inclusive society. They genuinely don't care if someone is wearing a turban, or is Chinese.

I know when people are performing for the cameras but, it was compelling for me when I spoke to many young people who passed off skin colour as a 'non-story'. Their stories were powerful because they genuinely meant what they were saying.

It is my responsibility and that of others in the media to reflect this. Yes, as a journalist I should be telling you about immigrants being burnt out of their homes but I should also be telling you about the young man I met while filming last week. It was wrong of me to stereotype. I talked to this 18-year-old, wearing a shell suit and a baseball cap. I assumed, arrogantly, that he would be a racist. He looked at me when I presented him with a set of photographs showing black and Chinese people and he said: "Sweet. They are all sweet mate." I was embarrassed by my own stupidity. I live and breathe this place everyday, so why haven't I realised before now where the racist problem really lies?

Maybe it's not with the young, inarticulate, hard man type.

Maybe the really dangerous racists in Northern Ireland are those who do it in a suit … those with enough of an education that they can mask racist remarks in the flowery language contorted as immigration policy … the intelligent racists wouldn't get their hands dirty by spraying "POLES OUT" onto a wall, but they are surely just as culpable.

Are we racist in Northern Ireland? Ask the middle classes.

But one thing is for sure. I've met a Chinese woman who tells me she is insulted on a daily basis. I've sat beside a grieving man who believes his brother's killing was racial and who was barely audible because of tears which were choking him.

To even ask these people if we are racist in Northern Ireland is an insult to them and scornful to what they have experienced.

We shouldn't ask the question in front of these people. We should tell them what we are going to do about it - not what the authorities are going to do about it - but what we, the ordinary people, are going to do about it.

Because we like to think of ourselves as a really friendly nation in Northern Ireland, don't we?

Spotlight, Are We Racist, BBC ONE Northern Ireland, tonight Tuesday 24th October, 10.35pm
Article courtesy of: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

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Report on FARE action week

There are two more upcoming events in Ireland to note in your diary. At next Friday's Shamrock Rovers V St Pats Athletic FAI Cup Semi- Final clash the second edition of the Show Racism the Red Card Shamrock Rovers poster will be distributed.

On the Sunday, Bohemians are hosting local schools for a tournament on the theme Football Against Racism in Europe.

The seventh annual FARE Action Week got underway with a Europe-wide campaign to eradicate the cancer of racism and intolerance from the beautiful game.
(20 October 2006)

Running from 17 to 30 October, the annual show of strength coordinated by the FARE network and implemented with support of UEFA is uniting football fans, clubs and those targeted by racism across the continent in a concerted effort to make discrimination a thing of the past. Having grown massively since its launch in 2001, the FARE Action Week now includes more than 1000 single activities in 37 European countries (see List of Activities on www.farenet.org).

Over the forthcoming two weekends the campaign will boost public awareness of the problem of racism and discrimination and demonstrate a united front in dealing with this malign influence on Europe's number one sport.

Professional Leagues join the fight
A record of 14 European top leagues will dedicate their forthcoming league matches to the fight against racism, including England, Scotland, Cyprus, Macedonia, Malta, Slovenia, Romania and Norway.

In Belgium the “Centre for Equal Opportunities” initiated the campaign “Don’t act like a monkey” where all professional clubs, the Belgian FA, the fan federation and the players union Sporta tackle the problem of racist chanting in stadiums. A TV-spot will be shown during the football broadcasts and 80.000 posters handed out to fans, in addition clubs are to be asked to sign an anti-racism charter.

In Portugal the Players Union SJPF coordinates anti-racist stadium actions across the country. The stars Eusébio, Fernando Gomes and Vítor Baía will act as ambassadors. The Hungarian Players Association will organise a campaign involving all first division clubs. Players will wear anti-racism t-shirts in the warm up, tannoy announcements will be made and children with ethnic minority background present a FARE banner at the pre-match line up.

For the first time all 73 professional sides in Germany are taking part in the FARE Action Week, following a series of racist incidences after the World Cup. 750.000 red cards are to be placed on seats so that fans can join the players when they show racism the red card at kick-off. In neighbouring Austria, the Bundesliga will run activities involving all 22 professional clubs. At the line-up team captains will take the microphone to read an anti-racism statement, also a new anti-racism video spot will be aired in all stadiums. Fans will receive a special fanzine produced by the FARE partner FairPlay-vidc.

Following a serious far-right incidence in Serbian football – last week 37 FK Borac fans wearing Ku-Klux-Klan masks abused a Zimbabwean player of the visiting team – the Serbian football association and clubs will intensify their campaigning efforts to drive racism out of the stadiums. In addition to the already scheduled anti-racism match days at Smederevo, OFK Belgrade, Partizan, Red Star, Zemun and Vojvodian 80.000 FARE leaflets will be distributed to fans.

Rafal Pankowski, speaker of the Polish the FARE partner Never Again Association said:

“Over the last decade some good progress has been made in challenging racism in the game, but by no means has it been eradicated. In several parts of Europe we still regularly witness the overt abuse of black and other minority players at both the professional and grassroots level of the game. Also migrants and ethnic minorities still feel excluded from the existing football structures within associations, clubs and some fan clubs across Europe.”

Grassroots involvement in Eastern Europe
To reinforce the message that football is for all – irrespective of origin, skin-colour or language – FARE supports a wide range of community-based events. In particular human right-groups in non-EU members states in Eastern Europe make use of youth football tournaments to raise awareness and integrate Roma an other ethnic minorities. Such events will take place in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Georgia, Moldavia, Russia and Macedonia.

Celebration of Fan Culture
As the life blood of the anti-racism struggle in football, fan groups across the continent will challenge the most visible racism during the Action Week. Over the weekend eight members of the network “Réseau Supporter de Resistance Antiraciste”, including French clubs Sochaux, Rennes, Metz, Valence, Clermont, Bordeaux, Cannes, plus Liège (Bel) and Lausanne (Sui), will create choreographies, display banners and organise discussions. In the Czech Republic the fan project of champion Slovan Liberec and the Bohemians Prague Ultras are staging colourful fan choreographies during their home ties. Other active fan groups include those of Bröndby, Young Boys Bern, Venice, Ancona, Cadiz, Paris SG, Arsenal, Kiev and Kaiserslautern.

Challenging Homophobia and Sexism
In order to challenge discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender, FARE lends support to a number of initiatives. The gay fan club Hertha JunXX in Berlin will display a banner when Hertha BSC play Borussia Mönchengladbach. The Schalker fan initiative has launched a poster campaign featuring homosexual youth in football kits. The Ultrà female fan clubs Borussen playgirls and Bochum wildcats will display banners when their teams meet in the Bundesliga. In the Macedonian capital Skopije MKD Prokultura is organising the first tournament for girls of ethnic minority background.

Massive Audience
The UEFA Champions League fixtures on 17/18 October marked the start of the FARE Action All 32 teams involved in Europe's premier tournament were accompanied onto the field by children wearing t-shirts bearing the slogan 'Unite against Racism'; also all team captains wore anti-racism armbands. 618.000 fans witnessed these symbolic activities live in the 16 stadiums and more than 100 million viewers via TV live coverage.


Further information from:
Kurt Wachter, FARE partner FairPlay-vidc, Tel 0043 1 7133594-90, fairplay@vidc.org
Leon Mann, FARE partner Kick It Out, Tel. 0044 207 684 4884, leon@kickitout.org

Notes
The List of Activities during the FARE Action Week is published on
http://www.farenet.org/actionweek_events.asp

An electronic version of new FARE Action Week poster can also be downloaded from
http://www.farenet.org/resources/Poster_ActionWeek06.pdf

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Fortnight of Action Action against Racism in Europe

All 32 teams in the Champions League will take part in the FARE action week by supporting the message 'Unite Against Racism' on the t-shirts worn by the mascots leading them onto the field.

Interview on racism with UEFA spokesman speaking ahead of the UEFA/ FARE fortnight of action William Gaillard at the following link,
http://video.uefa.com/video/VOD/Kind=220/free,newsId=386306.html?MediaURL=/MultimediaFiles/News/uefa/UEFAMedia/386306.asx


United against racism


Other activities will include the captains of all the teams wearing Unite Against Racism armbands, announcements being made to fans in stadiums over the loudspeaker calling for opposition to all forms of racism, and Unite Against Racism adverts being placed in matchday programmes as well as the official UEFA Champions League magazine Champions.

During the 16 games of match day 3 more than half a million fans will directly be reached with an anti-racism message.

The UEFA president, Lennart Johansson, welcomed the Action Week and called upon anyone in the football world who has not yet taken a stand against racism to join the fight.

"UEFA", said Lennart Johansson, "is proud to be backing the FARE Action Week against racism and discrimination. We appreciate the opportunity to underline our unwavering commitment to eradicating racism in our game. We know that racism can¹t be beaten in a single week, but we hope these activities will be a catalyst that engages more and more members of the football family in the fight against racism and discrimination."

Fight racism, celebrate football
>From 17 to 30 October the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network is launching for the seventh time the European Action Week against Racism and Discrimination in Football.

More than 600 groups in 37 countries will take part. The emphasis for this season is to call for creative action for the inclusion of ethnic minorities into all levels of football (teams, stadiums, administration, coaching). Moreover, in the course of the forthcoming Action Week FARE supports also initiatives who target discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender.

Kurt Wachter, from FARE's Austrian partner FairPlay, said:

"The Action Week gains more and more support each year, helping to disseminate the anti- racism message across the continent. The partnerships established during the period have lead to increased action on the issue and we hope that those engaging with the FARE Action Week for the first time will continue to join us in our efforts to eradicate all forms of racism and discrimination from the game after the period."

For further information please contact:
Kurt Wachter, FARE partner FairPlay-vidc, Tel. 0043 1 7133594-90, fare@vidc.org,
Leon Mann, FARE partner Kick It Out, Tel. 0044 207 684 4884, leon@kickitout.org

Notes
An electronic version of new FARE Action Week poster can be downloaded from:
www.farenet.org

The List of Activities during the FARE Action Week will be published soon on www.farenet.org.

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Anti-semitic slurs spur action against racism in German football

ANTI-SEMITIC SLURS AT SOCCER GAME SPUR ACTION AGAINST RACISM (Germany)
In the professional soccer stadiums, racism has gone underground but is on the rise in the local leagues and in eastern Germany, according to a recent study. A game last week in Berlin is a disturbing case in point.



15/10/2006- Local soccer games don't usually draw much interest, but when spectators hurled anti-Semitic slurs at Jewish players during last week's match between TuS Makkabi Berlin and VSG Altglienicke, heads turned across the country. Even German Soccer Federation President Theo Zwanziger got involved. The incident also supports a study presented last week in Berlin by the Federal Institute for Sports Science, which indicated that, while racism is increasingly being practiced in professional stadiums with subtle codes and hand signals, it is still very apparent in the minor leagues. "When we went onto the field, I heard a few comments like 'Germany isn't a Jewish republic' and 'no Jewish state,' so I went over to the referee and told him about it," said Vernen Liebermann, a player for the Jewish soccer team Makkabi. "He said he would stop the game as soon as he heard something. But referee Klaus Brüning has repeatedly testified in court that he didn't hear a thing. For 24-year-old Liebermann, whose grandparents had survived life in a Nazi ghetto, the evening game quickly turned into a nightmare.

Yellow card, red card
"At first, we just kept playing, but we got more and more nervous because every 10 minutes someone would shout 'Jewish pig' or 'burning synagogues,'" Liebermann said. The disruption came from a group of men standing next to the players' bench on the Altglienicke side. Beer bottles in their hands, the chants grew louder. The Makkabi players endured the humiliation for over an hour. Then, in the 78th minute of play, Makkabi defender Raffael Tepmann shouted back at the chanters: "Shut up, boys!" Tepmann was given a yellow card. "Then I approached the ref and told him that if he had one ounce of respect for the history of this country he had to do something and help us," Liebermann said. Liebermann was then given a red card. When he refused to step off the field, the whole Makkabi team left together to avoid an escalation. Threats were made against the team, but the police didn't arrive until an hour later.

Concerns about right-wing extremists in the area
After being informed of the incident later that evening, Altglienicke's youth coordinator Sven Klebe offered Makkabi a written apology -- the only one that came from his team. Just a week earlier, the far-right National Democratic Party had won 18 percent of the votes in that district. Klebe said he was concerned that right-wing extremists could influence his soccer club. "We have taken security measures to ensure that a similar incident doesn't occur at the championship game," Klebe said.

Giving racism the red card
Theo Zwanziger, head of the German Soccer Federation (DFB), has spoken out against racism and encouraged the individual soccer clubs to put a lid on racist disturbances. When racist slurs were made in early September against Germany's Ghana-born national player Gerald Asamoah, DFB fined the opposing team Hansa Rostock 20,000 euros ($25,000). The team was also required to play one home game without spectators. The fine is the highest DFB has ever imposed because of racism and the precedent-setting case is seen as a message to soccer clubs that they are responsible for their fans' behavior. The authors of the study on racism by the Federal Institute for Sport Science recommended improving communication between fan groups, soccer clubs and the police. As an example, organizers will distribute symbolic red cards to spectators on the eighth game day in the season as part of a campaign called "Give Racism a Red Card."


Hoping for normalization
As for Makkabi, things aren't back to normal yet. Some of the regular players are afraid to play in eastern Berlin where right-wing tendencies are higher. A TV crew films the team's practices and plain-clothes police officers accompany them to matches. "We don't really want to play soccer under police supervision," said the team's director, Claudio Offenberg. "We hope that the situation will stabilize." Makkabi's umbrella organization in Berlin, the House of Soccer, is expected to announce a verdict on the case on Monday, Oct. 16.
© Deutsche Welle http://www.dw?world.de/dw/0,1595,266,00.html

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15% increase in race attacks in Northern Ireland

The "depressing and shocking" development of Belfast as the "racist capital of Europe" has been exposed by the UK's leading anti-fascism campaigners.

BELFAST: THE RACIST CAPITAL OF EUROPE(uk)
For Searchlight magazine has highlighted the "appalling surge" in attacks against ethnic communities - in a 10-page special investigation, The Silent War.

Reporter Matthew Collins has uncovered the seamy underbelly of paramilitary-inspired violence - revealing that racist incidents have increased by 15pc in Ulster, in the past year alone. According to PSNI figures, a total of 746 crimes with a racial motivation, were committed in the province between April 1, 2005 and March 31, 2006. Among the shocking statistics are 25 threat or conspiracy to murder crimes, 238 woundings or assaults, 69 cases of intimidation or harassment and 351 incidents of criminal damage.

The worst racist hot spots in Ulster are Belfast, Dungannon, Craigavon and Ballymena. Relatively safe towns for migrants including Larne, Banbridge, Strabane and Limavady.

Possibly the most worrying aspect of such a surge in violence against ethnic minorities is the fact that a whopping 87pc of race crimes are not reported to the police first. Said Matthew Collins: "Racism is rising fast in Northern Ireland. Racist incidents have increased by 15pc in the past year. But it is the growing ferocity and systematic nature of these hate crimes that is shocking. "In the very streets that, for so long, have been divided by sectarian and religious conflict, the province is now earning itself a new reputation as the racist capital of Europe."

In Searchlight's extensive expose of race hate in Ulster, it tells a number of stories, including that of Catholic woman Marie, who married an Asian takeaway owner. She revealed that she has been subjected to a terrifying threat, after covering her head, in deference to her husband's parents. Explained Marie: "A man walked straight up to me and yanked at my head scarf and said 'get that off your f***ing head, you f***ing slut, or I swear to God, I'll kill you and your whole f***ing family' and just walked off."

Added Marie: "Sonny (her husband) tries not to see or hear what is happening here. But it really is obvious to me. I want to move to London. Things there could never be as bad, as here." And the racist attacks keep happening. Just last weekend, two Asian men and a police officer were injured and properties damaged in Dundonald and Lisburn. Windows were smashed and fireworks were set off during a series of attacks on homes in Lisburn last Sunday.

The previous night, a PSNI officer was injured, after going to the aid of two Asian men, who had suffered facial and rib injuries, at the hands of racist thugs in Dundonald. Searchlight magazine editor, Nick Lowles called its findings "depressing and shocking" and said that loyalist paramilitaries, in particular, were "increasingly turning to racism". He warned: "While there have been real and tangible improvements to the lives of ordinary people across Northern Ireland, there can be no accommodation with racist and fascist activity."
© The Belfast Telegraph http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/
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Racism against the Polish in Ireland

Swords and baseball bats were used in a night of violence in the north Dublin suburb of Finglas. Youths and up to 30 foreign nationals fought violent battles when a long simmering row boiled over into the streets.



The house in which the Eastern Europeans lived was attacked and daubed with Swastikas and KKK symbols after the violence. Local Gardai called to the scene were attacked with missiles and forced to retreat.

On Monday 9th October, Gardai escorted the foreign men out of the house for their own safety, but then the house was attacked. Every window was broken and the inside was ransacked. The eruption of anger is said to have stemmed from an attack on a local youth which is being blamed on the east Europeans.

A local said: "There has been ongoing trouble there for a while. There are supposed to be two to a room but its is up to seven per room".

The man said that on Saturday 7th October a local youth was being chased by a man with a samarui sword and picked up a spade to defend himself. Massive destruction is said to have occured as other terrified locals hid in their homes.

Source: Evening Herald, Thursday 12th October, 2006

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Intercontinental League Fixtures

Below are the fixtures this Sunday for the Brian Kerr Sari Intercontinental League



Results from last week to follow
Sunday 14:00 South Africa V Polonia Saint Anne’s Park

Sunday 12:30 Hong Kong V SADC Utd Saint Anne’s Park


Sunday 14:00 Zimbabwe V Algeria Saint Anne’s Park

Sunday 14:00 D.R. Congo V Ireland Saint Anne’s Park

Sunday 14:00 Poland V Libya Saint Anne’s Park

Sunday 14:00 Poland Naas V Romania Saint Anne’s Park

Sunday 14:00 Mosney Utd V Brazil Saint Anne’s Park



Sunday 14:00 Italy V Somalia Oscar Trainer Road


Sunday 14:00 Angola V Slovakia Walkingstown Park



Sunday 14:00 Polska V Polish Eagles Pitch in Lucan

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Ireland Vs Czech game sees launch of FARE week

Announcement at Lansdowne Road-
This Half- Time exhibition is a 7-a-side match between Under 13s from Bohemian FC and Drogheda United, as part of the FARE Fortnight of action. The teams consist of under 13s from local schools within Drogheda and Bohemians catchment areas.





FARE - Football Against Racism in Europe is having a fortnight of action across all of Europe in association with UEFA from October 17th to 30th 2006.

Purpose: Exhibition match is to highlight the work the eircom League is doing to encourage integration within their local communities, and to link clubs to schools, encouraging support and participation of all, in football.

Football Against Racism in Europe


During FARE fortnight of action against racism in football, the FAI is calling on all of its clubs and associates to support this week of activity.

Appropriately, the theme of this year's FARE/ UEFA week of action is inclusion. We want people of all nationalities who live in Ireland to be part of Irish football.

With our increasing migrant population, the FAI have appointed an Intercultural Officer to promote and support the participation of people of all cultures, in football within Ireland.












Eircom League

Within the eircom league already some good work is taking place to this effect. Eircom League clubs such as Drogheda United, Shamrock Rovers and Galway United have formed partnerships with Show Racism the Red Card to demonstrate their public commitment, while Bohemians have many activities organised and have translated their website into seven languages.

In recent years, migrants new to our shores have formed their own teams.

In Dun Laoghaire Town FC Mr. Luke Martin involves local youngsters and residents in an asylum centre in football, while the Polish Eagles have entered the Leinster Senior League with Mount Tallant.

Gort for Brazil FC was formed by Brazilians with the support of locals to cater for some of the town's sizeable Brazilian population.
Somalians based in Dublin even have their own website www.somaliunitedfc.com.












Bohemian FC fully recognises and embraces the role that Sport has to play in the integration of ethnic minority communities into a new and modern multi-cultural Irish society. Bohemian FC has gone to many lengths to welcome these people to Dalymount Park to come along and sample live professional football “on their doorstep”. They also emphasise the fact that there is professional football available to them in their new home and that it is on their doorstep

Drogheda United FC has a close working relationship with various ethnic groups in Drogheda’s community. For every home match they supply 20-25 complimentary tickets to these communities.

Drogheda United FC have set up a partnership with Show Racism the Red Card. At the start of the season, Show Racism the Red Card in association with Drogheda United FC, launched their campaign against racism in sport in United Park, with the people of Drogheda’s community from all walks of life.

Drogheda United FC believes in working with all peoples in the community from grassroots to professional football for the good of football and sport.

SARI – Sport Against Racism Ireland, have also done much work to encourage participation in Football from ethnic minorities, and all nationalities based here in Ireland. For example, this year so far, SARI hosted a 7-a-side World Cup in May with 32 countries competing, and their 10th Annual Soccerfest was held in September with 48 teams participating including a Womens Soccer Tournament.

www.farenet.org

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Germany Show Racism the Red Card

From £50 donation by Shaka Hislop through developing a regionwide anti-racism campaign and the follow on developments of Show Racism the Red Card projects in other European countries, Europe's biggest and most populous nation has come on board.


As part of the international week of action organised by the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network in association with the the European governing body (UEFA), the German Football League will stage an extensive event in Week 8 of the season (20-23 October).

Spectators at every stadium will be handed a red card bearing the message "Show racism the Red Card" and will be asked to hold it aloft at the same time.

"We want to send out a signal. The Bundesliga stands for internationality, cosmoplitanism and tolerance. We therefore feel it is important to support this European-wide week of action", explained league president Werner Hackmann: "There's room for racism and discrimination in our football."

German football has a long history of supporting efforts against all kinds of discrimination. The "My Friend is a Foreigner" campaign, for example, took place as early as 1993. The clubs and companies have also been involved in a number of activities in recent years, including the "Day against Forgetting" and "The Week of Tolerance".

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Fortnight of Action on Racism in Ireland

Ireland was ahead of the game last night in announcing its programme for the UEFA/ FARE fortnight of action 17th-30th October 2006.

An exhibition game saw Drogheda u13s score one over on the u13s from Bohemians. The game served to highlight the work of clubs in the Eircom League in promoting community involvement of ethnic minorities.


This is the first year of Ireland's involvement in the UEFA/FARE fortnight of action against racism. To signal the way forward the association's Chief Executive Officer John Delaney has written to all clubs and leagues about the week. The text of the letter is below.


RE: Week of Action Against Racism
Dear Colleague

I would like to inform you of an important date for your football diary.

UEFA's partner in the campaign against racism, Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) is staging a Fotnight of Action on October 17-30th, 2006.

As the newly formed Football Intercultural Advisory Group (FIAG) is promoting the activity in Ireland and the recently appointed Intercultural Programm Coordinator will be overseeing this for the FAI, we ask all in our football family to play its role in challenging racism by engaging with new minority ethnic/cultural communities and assisting people to get involved with the game.

I encourage associations, clubs and supporters alike to make strong effort to contribute actively to the programme of the fortnight by designing and implementing projects more people from minority ethnic communities to get involved in the game. Many clubs, for example will be inviting guests from different ethnic groups to atend their games. Below are one or two suggestions that you might like to think about.

- A friendly match with members of new communities
- Have an open day and invite members of new communities along

Finally, I would be obliged if you could inform the FAI Intercultural Programme Coordinator, Des Tomlinson of your activity at des.tomlinson@fai.ie / 01 7037571. If you are engaged in similar work as part of your regular programme, we would also like to hear details.

Thank you for you assistance in contributing to the ongoing development of an intercultural society free of racism and discrimination through the medium of our game.

Yours sincerely,

John Delaney

FIAG Members

-Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform www.justice.ie
-Football Association of Ireland www.fai.ie-National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalsim www.nccri.ie-Sport against Racism in Ireland www.sari.ie-Show Racism the Red Card www.theredcard.ie

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Scottish footballer writes about his work with the Red Card

Can you imagine what life could have been like if the bricklayers who built Hadrian's Wall had been any good? Think for a minute if it had fulfilled its purpose, penning the Scots in and freeing us from foreign interference.


The Roman Emperor's plan to "separate the Romans from the Barbarians" could have doomed us all to a modern lifetime of Harris tweed underpants, haggis for breakfast and endless re-runs of the Crankies Christmas Specials.

But, almost 2,000 years after it was erected, the crumbled ruins of the famous wall should stand as a reminder to all Scots of just what could have been - and how lucky we are today that it came tumbling down.


God/Allah/Buddah/Jah/Yahweh (delete as appropriate) for the cheap cement used by Hadrian's builders and the positive influence multiculturalism has had on our country ever since it fell.

I doubt the moronic element that tarnished the reputation of Airdrie Football Club, and Scottish football in general, with their despicably racist behaviour last weekend at Gretna's Raydale Park would recognise the benefits of our long-since established relationship with the rest of the world. Then again, I imagine it is extremely difficult to see anything perceptively when viewed from two holes cut in one of your mum's old flannelette pillowcases. The Airdrie official website described the supporters who greeted the arrival of the black Gretna substitute Matthew Berkeley by slipping Ku Klux Klan-style masks over their heads as "misguided souls".

Soulless would have been a more appropriate description of these senseless cowards. News reports on the match neglected to detail whether the same "misguided souls" had brandished their sickening headgear when Airdrie's centre forward Brian McPhee, who also happens to be black, scored the second goal in the Lanarkshire club's first league victory of the season.

When I am not methodically planning the expansion of Stranraer's footballing empire, I am employed as the educational co-ordinator for the anti-racism charity Show Racism the Red Card.

My remit includes the delivery and structuring of our "Coaching with a Conscience" scheme, where well-known faces from the professional game engage primary school children around Scotland in anti-racism discussion sessions in conjunction with a fun, football coaching routine.

To assist me in the delivery of these well-received, informative and extremely enjoyable workshops, I have managed to recruit some major names from Scottish football - renowned, articulate role models that the kids can learn from and be inspired by.

One is teetotal, non-smoking Jim Duffy, the media pundit who has worked at the highest levels both in domestic football and in the English Premiership. Another is Brian Irvine, the God-fearing former Aberdeen and Scotland stopper, who is an inspiration to many after his successful playing career and his personal battle with multiple sclerosis.

A number of high-profile racist incidents on the continent over the past few years forced UEFA to introduce severe sanctions for clubs whose players, officials or supporters indulged in racist behaviour within or in the vicinity of a football stadium. During a recent international between Italy and Croatia in Livorno, a group of around 100 Croatian supporters gave Nazi salutes while standing in formation as a human swastika on the terracing.

The imposition of hefty fines, the loss of league points or the possible expulsion from tournaments should be threat enough for football clubs to ensure that their members stay on the correct side of UEFA's anti-racism protocol.

But to ensure that individual clubs and associations are properly vigilant, the penalties must be realistic enough to be applied and not merely well-intentioned soundbites which there is no impetus or determination to enforce. It is essential that examples are made of any individuals that indulge in racist actions. Leniency in this regard will merely lead to more "misguided souls" attempting to register the most offensive and disturbingly racist incident of the week on their sickening, overtly fascist, websites.

An honest education and conceivable punishments for behaviour regarded as unacceptable to society are essential requirements if Scotland's young people are to achieve their optimum positioning in life - and also to ensure that both Scottish football and society have to endure fewer "misguided souls" in the years to come.

Gerry Brittan is spokesman for Show Racism the Red Card

There are comments from readers of this article on The Scotsman website
http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1489802006

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10years of Show Racism the Red Card

Former Newcastle, Sunderland and Ireland stars gathered in Newcastle yesterday for the 10th anniversary of Show Racism the Red Card. Former Sunderland Captain Gary Bennett was joined by other legends of the north east clubs including David Kelly, Howard Gayle and John Beresford.


Gary Bennett played through the bad old days of racism and has taken great pride in watching football take a stand against those who used to try to make his life a misery as a player.

While Bennett, who visits schools in the region to talk about racism and its effects with Show Racism the Red Card has committed his post-playing days to helping to fight against this enduring scourge of society, he also admitted it is a fight that can never be won.

Bennett, who made 296 appearances for Sunderland between 1984 and 1991 before a brief spell as a manager with Darlington said: "I don't think it will ever be stamped out completely, that's impossible. What we can do is educate young people to ensure it is not as prominent in society.

"It's a lack of education, it comes from peers, or family members. We ask them why they think that and show them why it's wrong. It's very successful because football is such a powerful tool. We do football coaching, we watch the videos, we do workshops, it's a day of activities.

"As a black player you always knew you were going to get plenty of abuse when you went there. It happened at a lot of grounds, but it was always worse when you went there. When you're young maybe it was something that made you a little nervous, but you learned to put it to the back of your mind or you used it as your inspiration."

"It's only as I've got involved with the SRRC campaign that I learned about how racism changes shape the whole time and targets different groups.

"The sentiments are the same but the racism we come across mainly now is antiMuslims, asylum-seekers and immigrant workers from Eastern Europe. They are the ones getting the backlash and these are all issues we look at with school children.

Banana skins and monkey chants

Howard Gayle was the first black player to turn out for Liverpool and one of the first to feature for both Newcastle and Sunderland. The abuse he received was often horrific.

When Howard Gayle played for Newcastle United on loan in 1981 the home supporters began a song in his honour. "He's black, he's broon, he plays for the Toon, Howard Gayle, Howard Gayle."

"When I played for Newcastle and for Sunderland, the fans were great, both on and off the pitch.

"When I'd been an opposition player at St James's Park I was spat at, there were monkey noises and all sorts of racist abuse. It wasn't pleasant, but sadly it was something I had become used to.

"From banana skins being thrown at me, to spit in the face at English grounds to 70,000 Germans at Bayern Munich chanting and making the Nazi salute.

I followed the mob

John Beresford used to racially abuse black players as a fan, but he told Luke Edwards how professional football helped show him the error of his ways.

Like many white teenagers growing up in Britain's major towns and cities in the seventies and eighties John Beresford was on racism's frontline.

As a school pupil in Sheffield, Beresford (pictured above) shared a classroom with black friends, but when he went to watch his beloved Sheffield United he readily joined in the racists chants which plagued every black player on a visit to Bramall Lane.

Like so many of his peers, Beresford did not think he had anything personal against black people, he just joined in with the rest of the mob when they launched their vicious verbal abuse.

At times, he felt it was wrong, but it was only when he began to play football alongside black teammates that he learnt about the damage the mindless chants and jokes could have.

"I was asked to help Show Racism The Red Card when I was playing for Newcastle," reflects Beresford, who was one of the first players in the region to agree to help the campaign 10 years ago.

"I was asked whether I had any experience of racism in football and I said I did, that when I used to go to games as a teenager, I used to make monkey noises and I joined in the racist chants.

"It caused quite a stir at the time, but all the black teammates I had were just pleased I'd spoken about it. They knew I knew it was wrong, but it had helped highlight the issue.

"I'm not looking for a pat on the back, I'm not perfect, but I think the campaign has been so successful because white players have also spoken out against it. It's OK to have black players saying they've experienced this or that, but it helps when their white teammates come out and say how wrong it is.

Also attending the anniversary was Ireland and former Sunderland striker David Kelly. Kelly says: "This is a good campaign. I became involved shortly after the Ireland Vs England game was abandoned due to violence started by racists. I felt it was quite appropriate to be in the campaign all the more so because I scorred the goal of that match".

Source: The Newcastle Journal

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Sweden's campaign against racism

A very successful antiracism campaign was run in Swedish football from 9th to 20th September.













The campaign was organized by the Swedish players’ union, Svenska Fotbollsspelare, together with the Swedish FA and the League Organizations.

The campaign was organized by the Swedish players’ union, Svenska Fotbollsspelare, together with the Swedish FA and the League Organizations.

The antiracism campaign appeared at 42 games in the first and second division and in the women’s first division. Over 175,000 spectators came to the see these games.

At each match the captains of the two teams said a few words at the lineup about player involvement in this campaign. All spectators were given a Red Card on entering the stadiums and players also showed this red card at the lineup displaying the text: Ge Rasismen Röt Kort (Show racism the red card).

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Galway launch of Show Racism the Red Card

Galway Launch Red Card campaign.












Pictured: A section of the audience at the launch of Galway's Show Racism the Red Card campaign at the City Museum.

A partnership of Galway United FC, Professional Footballers Association Gort for Brazil FC, Galway City Partnership, Galway City Council, Gaelic Players Association and the Galway Refugee Support Group have united to Show Racism the Red Card.


Fran Gavin (General Secretary ) introduced the Mayor of Galway to open proceedings. Mayor of Galway Niall Ó Brolacháin said: “Galway is now home to many nationalities and we must learn to value all they have to offer to our community. As a local authority we have a responsibility to promote such initiatives because by opposing racism we can encourage integration and a better quality of life for all”.











The project is assisted by the distribution of 3,000 posters of the Galway United FC squad bearing the slogan Show Racism the Red Card in 8 languages. Local stars of Gaelic, Soccer and Rugby were on hand to lend support. Galway United FC Alan Gough and Alan Murphy participated on the panel while other United players were there in support.











RTE Personality of the Year and Galway Hurler Alan Kerins and his team mate Finian Hanley together with some of the Galway United team took time off work to attend the event. Niamh Fahy U19 Ireland Ladies Soccer and prolific GAA sportswoman and the coach of Galway Asylum Seekers FC were also part of the panel.

Galway Bay FM's Ollie Turner compered a very entertaining and informative Questions & Answers session involving local youngsters and the the panel.

This new partnership of local agencies with Show Racism the Red Card aims to promote intercultural activity while addressing the issue of racism to promote the principle of sport being inclusive for all.












Pictured: Ernest Bishop, Galway City Partnership, Mayor Niall Ó Brolacháin and Garrett Mullan

Show Racism the Red Card co-ordinator Garrett Mullan said in advance of the launch: “Participation in sport provides great opportunities to interact with people from all cultures and through working, playing and living together we can promote integration and understanding”.

Alan Murphy, Galway United FC said: “With our poster in 8 languages we are delighted to open the gates of Terryland Park to all nationalities”.















Pictured are Galway Hurler Finian Hanley and Galway United FC Captain Alan Gough

Galway United’s General Manager Nick Leeson added: “While increasing our support base amongs new nationalities, we also want to promote football in the community and warmly welcome the work of the PFAI and FAI in supporting this work”.
















Galway United's Alan Murphy

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