Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. It’s played by people of every race and creed. The game’s universality, you might think, would make it a place where racism was less likely to take root. But you’d be wrong — soccer has a racism problem. Now FIFA, the world governing body of soccer (or football, as it’s more sensibly known), is responding to the racism problem in its sport with a new Anti-Discrimination Monitoring System.
The system will send trained monitors to games where fans are likely to behave in a discriminatory way — chanting racist abuse, for example. Yaya Toure, a midfielder for Manchester City who plays internationally for the Ivory Coast, helped FIFA introduce the system this week at Wembley Stadium in London. Toure has been subjected to racist abuse frequently and has spoken out against the treatment some players receive from fans.
My birthday wish is we all stand together against racism. #SayNoToRacism
— Yaya Touré (@YayaToure) May 12, 2015
My birthday wish is we all stand together against racism. #SayNoToRacism
— Yaya Touré (@YayaToure) May 12, 2015
