"I am not interested in intolerance. I am interested in respect for people's decisions... I have my own opinions, and I live my own fucking life by those opinions." - Ian Makaye (musician; Fugazi, Minor Threat, Teen idles)
Antifascism and Football (Soccer)
The term Antifa (pronounced either anti-fa or an-tifa) derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism. It refers to individuals and groups that are dedicated to fighting fascism. These groups sometimes include the word antifa in their names.
For these groups, the struggle against fascism, racism and nationalism is usually associated with a broader view that holds society (or aspects of it) responsible, and therefore seeks radical social change. Antifa groups most often view capitalism as related to fascism and racism, as well as sexism, homophobia, antisemitism and other perceived forms of oppression, while seeing communism, socialism or anarchism as desirable forms of social organization.
source: millitant anti-fascism article on wikipedia
Antifa Ultras
Ultra groups are sometimes associated with politics, such as racism, anti-racism, nationalism or anti-capitalism, resulting in rivalries and alliances based on these allegiances. Antifa Ultra is a term used to describe leftist, radical supporters clubs who take a millitant stance against discrimination (particularly racism), inside and outside soccer stadiums, which they see as being deliberately ignored by club management, the police and the state.
• List of Articles on this site about about Racism and Football
• FARE - Football Against Racism in Europe
• Anti-Racist World Cup
A Brief History of Racism and Football (from mainly an English perspective)
>The following are excerpts from the "Racism and football fans" section of a 1996 academic paper on football violence in Europe. I have cut out a lot of speculative, subjective, dated or police sourced information. It's an interesting primer, but the most glaring absence in it is any reason why racism, and the influence of racist groups on the english terraces, declined in the 80's and 90's [note: the officially sanctioned campaigns didn't start until 1993]. So really there should be some mention of the grassroots anti-fascist initiatives of the 70's and 80's directed at the National Front (NF), the British Movement (BM) and the British National Party (BNP) by Red Action, Class War, Anti-Nazi League and Anti Fascist Action. These campaigns were highly effective, and in some cases violent and illegal, which is probably why there are not mentioned).<
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Source: Football Violence and Hooliganism in Europe / Marsh, P., Fox, K., Carnibella, G., McCann, J. and Marsh, J. / Amsterdam Group / 1996
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Introduction
Racism is a problem for football across Europe and is an important factor in the problem of football hooliganism itself. The actual extent of racism is virtually impossible to measure as detailed statistics in this context are almost non-existent. Nevertheless, acts of football disorder, especially on the international scene, have frequently been referred to as 'racist', or perpetrated by racist groups, and some clubs are now viewed as having an inherently racist support...
The first professional black player in Britain is believed to have been Arthur Wharton, who signed for Darlington FC in 1889. Nowadays, a black player is by no means unusual. In fact, around 25% of professional players are black. However, in the 1993/94 season Carling survey of Premier League fans, only 1% of fans described themselves as 'non-white'...
Forms of Racism
Racist chanting in the 1970s and 1980s often took the form of members of the crowd making monkey noises at black players on the pitch...
The 1991 Football (Offences) Act made racist chanting at football matches unlawful, but is largely inadequate as chanting is defined as the "repeated uttering of any words or sounds in concert with one or more others". As a result an individual shouting racist abuse on his own can only be charged under the 1986 Public Order Act for using "obscene and foul language at football grounds"...
The level of influence that far-right groups have amongst football fans is a highly debatable issue but over the years they have been present in many football grounds across Britain. Garland and Rowe(1) suggest that far-right groups have targeted football fans since at least the 1930s, when the British Union of Fascists tried to attract the young working class male supporters into their brigade of uniformed 'stewards'. In the 1950s the White Defence League sold their newspaper Black and White News at football grounds in London.
It was the 1970s, however, that saw far-right groups rise to prominence as the problem of football hooliganism grew in the national conscience. The National Front (NF) was the most active group in the 1970s, giving regular coverage in its magazine Bulldog to football and encouraging hooligan groups to compete for the title of 'most racist ground in Britain'. Copies of Bulldog were openly sold at many clubs and, at West Ham, club memorabilia was sold doctored with NF slogans. Chelsea, Leeds United, Millwall, Newcastle United and Arsenal, as well as West Ham United, were all seen as having strong fascist elements in the 1970s and 1980s. After the Heysel stadium tragedy when a wall collapsed killing 39 people fleeing from Liverpool fans, British National Party leaflets were found on the terraces.
It seems that in the 1990s, however, the problem is waning. It is now uncommon to see the open selling of far-right literature or memorabilia at football matches... But this does not mean to say that the problem has gone away, especially amongst the support for the English national side.During the 1980s, far-right groups were often in attendance at England's matches abroad. Williams and his colleagues(2) identified a presence of NF members in the English support, especially amongst the Chelsea contingent, at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
As recently as 1995, far-right groups have been involved in disturbances abroad, namely at the England vs. Republic of Ireland 'friendly' match at Lansdowne Road, Dublin when fights between rival fans caused the game to be abandoned after half an hour. Supporters of the British National Party (BNP) and a militant group called Combat 18 were said to have been involved after racist literature was found at the scene. Anti Republican chanting could clearly be heard at the match and some claim that the violence was actually orchestrated by an umbrella group called the National Socialist Alliance.
The attractions of football matches to far-right groups are obvious. Football grounds provide a useful platform for the groups to make their voices heard. From them their views can be directed into millions of homes. It also seems as if football grounds can be a means to recruit young support...
Some debate also exists as to whether right-wing groups deliberately target soccer fans as recruits or whether soccer fans are drawn into the groups because of the opportunities they offer for violence. Dave Robins(3) is drawn towards the former argument, citing the leafleting campaigns of the 1980s, while David Canter (5) argues that the right-wing groups merely cash in on soccer violence, rather than instigate it. One would have to conclude that there are elements of truth in both theories.
Anti-racism initiatives
Recent years have seen a number of attempts by various groups and organisations to combat racism in football. These have come from the club level, supporter level and from organisational bodies... such as the Campaign for Racial Equality (CRE), the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) and the Football Supporters Association (FSA).
In 1993 the CRE and PFA launched the Let's Kick Racism Out of Football campaign, "with the aim of highlighting anti-racist and equal opportunities messages within the context of football"(6)
...
The campaign stated that:
"If football is to be played and enjoyed equally by everyone, whatever the colour of their skin, and wherever they come from, it is up to us all, each and every one of us, to refuse to tolerate racist attitudes, and to demand nothing less than the highest standards in every area of the game."
A magazine, Kick It!, was produced with funding from the Football Trust and 110,000 copies of a fanzine, United Colours of Football, were given out free at grounds across the country on the opening day of the 1994/95 season.
...
In a survey conducted by Garland and Rowe in December 1994, 49 fanzine editors from a wide range of clubs were asked to comment on levels of racism at their club. Many were skeptical about the success of Let's Kick Racism Out of Football, with only 32% citing the campaign as a factor in the perceived decrease in racism at football matches in the last five years.
...the aim of the CRE and PFA was to encourage clubs to launch their own initiatives, rather than control the whole campaign themselves. In this sense it has been largely successful, as it prompted many clubs to launch their own campaigns.
...Derby County went so far as to dedicate a home match day in 1994 to the cause of combating racism... Anti-racist banners were displayed, campaign messages printed in the match day programme and players involved...
The first fan-based group set up specifically to fight racism was Leeds Fans United Against Racism And Fascism (LFUARAF). This was formed in 1987 to combat the influence of far-right groups at Elland Road, especially the most visible displays of paper selling etc. The first step was to distribute anti-racist leaflets outside the ground, then in 1988 it contributed to Terror On Our Terraces, a report on the involvement of the far-right amongst the Leeds crowd...
In Scotland, supporters have formed a national campaign to combat racism in football. SCARF (Supporters' Campaign Against Racism in Football) was formed in 1991 in response to an increase in far-right activity at Scottish grounds, mainly involving the BNP. Most of the campaign consists of leafleting the worst affected grounds, Rangers and Hearts being two examples... SCARF say that they have had a problem in getting clubs and officials to recognise that there is a problem at all.
Fanzines started in the mid 1980s and have offered an alternative, positive view of football fans in the post-Heysel era. Now almost every club has at least one fanzine and Garland and Rowe claim that these are almost exclusively anti-racist. Some are actually produced by anti-racist groups themselves such as Marching Altogether (LFUARAF) and Filbo Fever (Leicester City Foxes Against Racism)...
The CRE and PFA also believe that the 'civilisation' of football grounds - seating, family enclosures, executive boxes etc. - will encourage more blacks and Asians to attend football matches. They may be right but this has not occurred yet in England. Every football ground in the Premier League is now all-seater yet, as mentioned before, white people constitute 99% of the attendance.
The European dimension
Throughout Europe, racism figures prominently in football related violence. Neo-nazi and neo-fascist groups target football grounds in Europe in the same way as their English equivalents do here. Among the worst affected clubs are Lazio and AC Milan in Italy, Paris Saint-Germain in France, and Real Madrid and Espagnole in Spain.
In Italy, a Jewish player, Ronnie Rosenthal, was unable to play even one game for Udinese because of massive pressure from neo-fascist circles and Aaron Winter, a native of Suriname of Hindustani extraction was subject to attacks at Lazio involving cries of 'Niggers and Jews Out'. More recently, Paul Ince, a black English player for Inter Milan , has expressed his anger at the way he has been treated by the Italian fans.
Germany has one of the worst reputations in Europe for far-right influence amongst its fans, with frequent displays of Hitler salutes, particularly at international matches... In 1990 there were reports of skinheads barracking the small number of black players in the Bundesliga and in 1992 similar reports were made of neo-nazi groups in Germany using football matches as occasions to plan and organise attacks against local ethnic communities and East European refugees...
...
Conclusion
The role of fan-based groups and the growth of fanzine culture were the two most cited reasons for the decline in racism, although this may not be surprising given that the respondents were all fanzine editors... [Garland and Rowe also claim that this view was backed up by nearly all of the administrators, players and officials interviewed in addition to the survey.]
As mentioned earlier, only a third of the respondents felt that the campaigns by the CRE and the FSA were a factor. Nevertheless, all of the respondents were aware of the Let's Kick Racism Out of Football Campaign and 44% felt that it had raised public awareness of the problem.
The issue of racism in football has been raised this year in a report to the European Parliament on football hooliganism, drafted by the German Green Group MEP Claudia Roth and presented in April... The committee was said to be:
" … shocked at the racist demonstrations and attacks perpetrated on players who are black or Jewish or come from different national or ethnic backgrounds"
and
" … concerned at the ways in which extremist organisations deliberately exploit violence connected with sport including the manipulation and infiltration of hooligan groups".
The report goes on to suggest that players should take an active role in combating racism by refusing to play if "violent, racist, xenophobic or anti-Semitic behaviour" occurs. It also calls for a Europe-wide ban on any racist or xenophobic symbols being displayed at football matches. Perhaps most importantly, the report calls for a European day of anti-racism and fair play in sport to be held throughout Europe in 1997 (the European Year Against Racism) and involving sports personalities to help promote the campaign.
... UEFA has so-far not adopted any specific measures to combat racism in football. They argue that their 'Fair Play' scheme is adequate in tackling the problem. In this, behaviour both on and off the field is evaluated, and negative marks are given for racist chanting or the display of racist slogans. At the end of the season the three national associations with the best records are awarded an extra place in the UEFA Cup for one of their clubs. Whilst this may provide some sort of incentive for fans not to be racist, critics argue that this is not enough.
In an international context, the media, in particular the English tabloid press, it is argued, play a part in encouraging racism and xenophobia at football matches and this was also recognised in the European Parliament report. In the report's explanatory statement the committee states that the media frequently present international matches as 'warlike confrontations' which thus give rise to jingoism and sometimes acts of violence. The committee recommends that the media should endeavour to bring the sporting aspect back into sport.
References
(1) Garland, J. and Rowe, M. (1996a). Racism at Work: A study of professional Football. The International Journal of Risk, Security and Crime Prevention, 1 (3): [Not yet available].
(2) Williams, J. and Wagg, S. (eds) (1991). British Football and Social Change. Leicester: University of Leicester Press.
(3) Robins, D. (1984). We Hate Humans . Harmondsworth: Penguin.
(5) Canter, D., Comber, M. and Uzzell, D. (1989). Football in its Place: An Environmental Psychology of Football Grounds. London: Routledge.
(6) Garland, J. and Rowe, M. (1996a). Racism at Work: A study of professional Football. The International Journal of Risk, Security and Crime Prevention, 1 (3): [Not yet available].
