, Labour’s Shadow
Sports Minister, speaking in the House
of Commons Urgent Question on racism during the England Bulgaria
match, said:
“This abuse must be stamped out - no one should have to
arrive at work to be subjected to any form of discrimination. Why
are our players still being subjected to this?
“UEFA has a duty to act here, the world is watching. A fine
is not enough, so I am asking our Government to ensure that we
are backing up the FA to seek the harshest possible punishment.
Stadium bans are a must, forfeiting matches and expulsion from
tournaments must not be ruled out. Enough is enough. The time to
act is now.”
Ends
Tom Watson, and Rosena Allin-Khan have written to UEFA boss
to ask that tougher measures are introduced to deal with racism
in football, following the terrible abuse during the Bulgaria
game. They urge match forfeits to be introduced and
disqualification to be seriously considered.
Full text of the letter to UEFA
President Aleksander Čeferin:
15.10.2019
Dear Aleksander,
The vile racist behaviour at last night's England-Bulgaria match
was a disgrace. Once again we see the ugly side of the beautiful
game, and it cannot be allowed to continue.
This was not a one-off. Racist abuse is a routine reality for
many football players. That’s why UEFA should introduce and
implement tougher disciplinary protocols for racism. Bulgaria
should immediately forfeit matches for their fans’ behaviour, and
disqualification should be seriously considered.
Decisive action is needed to stamp out racism in football, and it
is clear that UEFA's current system of fines and temporary
stadium bans are not working. The partial stadium ban did nothing
to reduce racist behaviour from Bulgarian fans last night. The
system is simply not fit for purpose.
No one should be expected to put up with the abuse that was
directed at England's players last night. We are immensely proud
of the team's conduct under extremely difficult circumstances,
but the onus cannot and should not be on the victims of racist
abuse to rise above it. It is the responsibility of teams, of
fans, and of UEFA to ensure that racism does not occur in the
first place.
We need a step change in tackling racism in football. This has
gone on for far, far too long. That is why we urge you to make
UEFA's position clear by ensuring that Bulgaria forfeit matches,
by seriously considering expulsion, and by strengthening the
disciplinary protocols at the earliest possible
opportunity.
We look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and
Sport
Dr
Shadow Sports Minister
