Panorama documentary and reaction on 12 June 2012. On 28 May 2012,
BBC current affairs programme
Panorama examined the issues of racism,
antisemitism and
football hooliganism which it stated were prevalent among Polish and Ukrainian supporters. The programme, titled
Euro 2012: Stadiums of Hate, included recent footage of supporters in chanting various antisemitic slogans and displays of
white power symbols and banners. The documentary recorded antisemitism and
monkey noise taunts of black players in Poland.
Panorama filmed black former England defender
Sol Campbell watching these clips, and then asked him whether he would recommend families go to the Championship. He responded: "Stay at home, watch it on TV. Don't even risk it... because you could end up coming back in a coffin." The report was then followed up by most of the British media, which published a large number of articles accusing Poles and Ukrainians of racism. The documentary was criticised as sensationalist, unbalanced and unethical.
Jonathan Ornstein, the executive director of the Jewish Community Centre of Kraków, a Jewish source used in the film said: "I am furious at the way the BBC has exploited me as a source. The organization used me and others to manipulate the serious subject of anti-Semitism for its own sensationalist agenda... the BBC knowingly cheated its own audience - the British people - by concocting a false horror story about Poland. In doing so, the BBC has spread fear, ignorance, prejudice and hatred. I am profoundly disturbed by this unethical form of journalism." Another source used in the film, anti-racism campaigner Jacek Purski said: "The material prepared by the BBC is one-sided. It does not show the whole story of Polish preparations for the Euros. It does not show the Championship ran a lot of activities aimed at combating racism in the "Respect Diversity" campaign. For us the Euro is not only about matches. The event has become an opportunity to fight effectively against racism and promote multiculturalism. There is no country in Europe free from racism. These are the facts." Black Polish MP
John Godson said: "The documentary was biased, one sided and rather sensational. I have received information that there were also interviews that were omitted by the BBC—for example interview with the Polish police." A reporter from
Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland's biggest liberal newspaper, questioned
Panorama's practices and said: "I am becoming more and more surprised with what the BBC says. So far it has denied two situations I witnessed. I would not be surprised if the BBC prepared a statement saying that the Panorama crew has never been to Poland." and that "Nazi symbols can be seen at ... any match in England". Polish Prime Minister
Donald Tusk stated: "Nobody who comes to Poland will be in any danger because of his race. This is not our custom, as is not pointing out similar incidents in other countries."
The Guardian reported: "Other sources have come forward to say that an interview with a Jewish Israeli player was also cut from the programme because he failed to confirm Panorama's "anti-semitism" thesis. The BBC interviewed midfielder
Aviram Baruchian, who played shortly for the Polish team
Polonia Warsaw. One source who was present said the Panorama journalists had complained afterwards that the interview was "useless". Panorama strongly denies this."
Panorama responded to the criticism, saying: "England Fans, the official England Supporters' Club, travelling to Euro 2012 called the programme unhelpful and some Poles in the UK have expressed concern that they have been labelled as racist. But amid all of these accusations against Panorama and the BBC, there is a real fear that the key issue has been missed - the overt and frightening racist and anti-Semitic abuse and violence of the kind broadcast by Panorama is both wrong and deeply upsetting to those on its receiving end. That was the point of the programme. We set out to highlight a wrong. Were the beatings that the students from India sustained in Ukraine's Metalist stadium somehow "exaggerated"? Was the fact that they said the police were of "no use" as they walked off bruised and alone into the Ukrainian night somehow "made up"? Were the monkey chants hurled at the black players we filmed in Poland somehow "sensationalised"?
Brendan O'Neill, the editor of
Spiked wrote that England fans had staged "a protest against BBC Panorama's hysterical depiction of Ukraine as a hotbed of racism and anti-Semitism, which they have discovered during their stay in that country to be untrue. ...it was the respectable Beeb, echoed by broadsheets, which painted an entire nation "over there" as backward and prejudiced, while it has fallen to everyday fans to poke holes in this xenophobic mythmaking and to point out that there is actually nothing scary about modern Ukraine and its inhabitants. England fans have proven themselves way more racially enlightened than the aloof suits in the current-affairs department of the BBC." England football coach
Roy Hodgson said the racism allegations were "the biggest negativity in England... As a result I think we've lost a lot of fans who didn't come because of a lot of horror stories about how life would be in the Ukraine and Poland." Hodgson added that he had nothing but positive impressions of Poland and Ukraine. The
Daily Mirror commented: "The biggest plus of Euro 2012 must be the scaremongering presented by BBC's Panorama of violence and terrible racism in Poland and Ukraine largely proved to be just that. If you do not believe me, then take the word of
Gary Lineker who did not mind taking a swipe at his BBC bosses to point out how friendly and accommodating the locals have been. Ahead of Spain's semi with Portugal, Lineker tweeted: "Donetsk is a lovely town with friendly folk. Pre-tournament scaremongering way off the mark"."
Other incidents According to the Dutch daily
de Telegraaf, during an open training session in
Kraków, Dutch black players were allegedly subjected to monkey noises and jeers, an incident that the Netherlands captain
Mark van Bommel described as a "real disgrace". UEFA acknowledged that there had been "isolated incidents of racist chanting". However, other Dutch media, including the prestigious daily
de Volkskrant, have reported that the allegations of monkey chants were made up. According to the newspaper, the coach of the Dutch team has made several statements to the BBC that he had not heard the supposed chanting, nor did the rest of the team. According to
de Volksrant, the story was sensationalized by
de Telegraaf. The first incidence of hooliganism at Euro 2012 happened on 8 June 2012 after
Russia vs Czech Republic in
Wrocław. Russian hooligans were violent against Polish
stewards at the
Wrocław's Municipal Stadium. Around 30 Russian hooligans attacked a handful of stewards. Four stewards needed hospital treatment after this attack. On 11 June 2012, before the Euro 2012 match between
Croatia and
Ireland, Croatian football fans clashed with
riot police in the Polish city of
Poznań. Croatian fans threw chairs, bottles and flares at Polish riot police. The incident began after a clash between intoxicated supporters of two rival Croatian teams from
Zagreb and
Split in one of the city centre's bars, shortly after 5:00 pm. Croatia was also later charged with racist chants and symbols against
Mario Balotelli in the
Italy game with anti-discrimination monitors reporting monkey noises were being made as well as far-right
Ustaše nationalist flags being displayed. A photographer for the
AFP also reported monkey noises made and spotting a steward picking up a banana that was thrown onto the pitch. The Croatian FA was fined $101,000 for this racial abuse and for setting off fireworks in the same match. The violence broke out when, during a march organised by Russian fans celebrating
Russia Day before the
Poland vs. Russia game at
Warsaw's
National Stadium, rival groups of supporters began to provoke each other with insulting chants. The
Polish Police fired warning shots and used
water cannon to disperse rival groups of fans; around 100 arrests were made and ten people hospitalised – seven Poles, two Russians and one German. In the same match Russian fans displayed a huge "This is Russia" banner during Russian national anthem in reference to
World War II Soviet invasion of Poland. Germany fans were charged with displaying "inappropriate banners and symbols", and fined $12,550 for bombarding Portuguese players with paper balls during their group match in Lviv. UEFA has opened proceedings to fine both the football federations of Spain and Russia. Spanish fans were accused of chants to black Italian player
Mario Balotelli, and Russian fans showed similar behavior in their game against the Czech Republic, where
Theodor Gebre Selassie noted racial chants from Russian fans. Disorder broke out in
Bedford, England after Italy defeated England on 24 June. In the town with a large Italian diaspora, about 150 England fans targeted Italian fans; cars were damaged, there were four arrests and one person was hurt, but not seriously. Some English
Twitter users were investigated by police on accusations of racially abusing
black English players
Ashley Cole and
Ashley Young, whose missed penalties caused the team to exit the tournament. ==Ambush marketing and discrepancy in disciplinary==