FIFA, the world football governing body, announced a tougher approach to tackle racism, declaring it a specific disciplinary offense. This decision follows consultations with victimized players, including Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior.
Newly appointed Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom stated, “We will make racism a specific offense with mandatory inclusion in the individual Disciplinary Codes of all 211 FIFA member associations, differentiating it from other incidents.”
The proposed measures, to be presented at FIFA’s annual meeting in Bangkok on Friday, include:
- Mandatory sanctions
- Possible match forfeits
- On-field actions
- Potential criminal charges
A global standard gesture is also proposed, where players raise their hands and cross their wrists to alert referees to a racist incident. This would initiate a three-step procedure:
- Pause play and broadcast warnings in the stadium
- Take teams off the field
- Abandon the game if necessary
Additionally, FIFA aims to create a panel of players to monitor and advise on the implementation of these actions globally.
For more than a decade, football has struggled to address racism on and off the field. This new initiative aims to provide a clearer and more consistent response to such incidents.