In European association football, there is racism operating at the institutional and fan cultural levels. In England, the upper levels of authority are majority white and give jobs as coaches or other positions to other already-known white men rather than making public job postings. Stereotypes about coaches of colour, that they are more physical than intellectual, limit the accessibility of people of colour into the football industry. There are also legislative restrictions that limit the number of 'non-citizens' within a team in ⅓ of the countries in the EU, specifically targeting certain minorities. Therefore, there is 'invisible centrality of whiteness' that permeates the upper levels of the football system. The stereotypes also apply to the players and prevent them from being treated well during matches, as seen in the racist chants heard during matches. South Asian players are considered "static" and "homogenous" while black players are considered to be "'difficult', 'bad tempered' and 'lacking in social etiquette" by clubs in Netherlands. Minority groups are expected to leave behind their cultural identities when joining a team and are encouraged to conform to the dominant norms perpetuated by white culture. And once the players are able to break into the system, it is difficult for them to work their way up into management or coaching. Within local areas such as Amsterdam, a sort of neighborhood nationalism develops that also contributes to this discrimination towards players of different origins.
Albania In July 2024, Albania was one of seven countries who were sanctioned by UEFA following racism from their fans during Euro 2024.
Austria In July 2024, Austria was one of seven countries who were sanctioned by UEFA following racism from their fans during Euro 2024. UEFA also announced that it has life banned the Qarabağ official for the "racist and other discriminatory conduct" targeting Armenians. Subsequently Ibrahimov was declared wanted in Armenia. In November 2025, English club Chelsea said that their academy players had been racially abused by fans in a match against
FK Qarabag.
Belgium Oguchi Onyewu, an American of
Nigerian descent, has been punched and shouted at by racist fans while playing for
Standard Liège. He has also had incidents with other players, such as
Jelle Van Damme, who, according to Onyewu, repeatedly called him a "dirty ape" Van Damme denied the accusations following the match, and claimed that Onyewu had called him a "dirty Flemish". Approximately two weeks later, on 2 June 2009, it was announced by Onyewu's lawyer that he was suing Van Damme in an effort to end on-field racism in European football.
Zola Matumona left
FC Brussels after he accused club chairman Johan Vermeersch of making racist remarks towards him during a crisis meeting at the struggling club. He is reported to have told Matumona to "think about other things than trees and bananas". In December 2021, Anderlecht head coach
Vincent Kompany was racially abused by
Club Bruges fans during a match.
Bulgaria In 2011, England national team players
Ashley Young,
Ashley Cole and
Theo Walcott were subjected to racist abuse by Bulgarian fans. In 2013, fans of
Levski Sofia unveiled a banner wishing 'happy birthday' to
Adolf Hitler. The plan was later reiterated by player
Tammy Abraham, while Southgate said he understood why Bulgarian footballing authorities had been offended. Bulgaria national team manager
Krasimir Balakov responded by saying racism was more of a problem in England than Bulgaria. The match, which resulted in a 6–0 England victory, was marred by racist chants and salutes from some Bulgarian fans, and was halted twice as a result. England player
Jordan Henderson said the players wanted to make the Bulgarian fans "suffer" for their racist abuse with a big defeat. The Bulgarian Prime Minister
Boyko Borissov told
Borislav Mihaylov, the head of the
Bulgarian Football Union, to resign, which he did later that day. National team manager Balakov claimed not to have heard any racist chanting, while goalkeeper
Plamen Iliev defended the fans, saying they had been well behaved. Balakov also later resigned his role as national team manager. UEFA president
Aleksander Čeferin said they would "wage war on the racists", and would decide on a punishment for Bulgaria. The next day UEFA announced that the Bulgarian FA would be fined 75,000 euros and forced to play two matches behind closed doors. and were fined and banned by the Bulgarian FA. Five more fans were then arrested. By 29 October 2019 there had been 12 arrests. In June 2022, CSKA Sofia's manager
Alan Pardew confirmed that he is leaving the club, citing as one of the principal reasons the racism directed at the players and his assistant
Alex Dyer by a small group of organized fans.
Croatia Henri Belle moved to Croatia at the beginning of 2011, signing with
Istra 1961. He drew attention to himself both by good games and through receiving racist taunts from
Bad Blue Boys. In April 2018,
Dinamo Zagreb were punished for the racist actions of their fans. In July 2024, Croatia was one of seven countries who were sanctioned by UEFA following racism from their fans during Euro 2024. and taunted him with monkey chants and the racist chant "Joseph tu pues, va te laver le cul!" ("Joseph you stink, go wash your ass!") to the tune of
Serge Gainsbourg's song Couleur café. This incident revealed to the broad daylight the rise of racism in the French stadia during the late 1980s, to incite the French club officials to look into said problem to remediate. In January 2005, as part of an anti-racism initiative in
Ligue 1,
Paris Saint-Germain's players wore all-white jerseys and the opposing
Lens players wore all-black during a French league match. The move backfired after racist elements among PSG's crowd in the Kop of Boulogne sung "Come on the whites". The racist overtone was exacerbated by
monkey chants from the Boulogne crowd whenever a Lens player touched the ball. On 23 November 2006 in a game between Paris Saint-Germain and Haopel Tel Aviv, a police officer, as well as many players on the field were targets of racial slurs. The police officer being chanted at threw teargas into the stands and shot his gun, killing one and injuring another. On 18 April 2007,
Lyon player
Milan Baroš was accused of racially abusing
Rennes'
Stéphane Mbia by implying that Mbia smelt. On 4 May, he was found guilty of the gesture, but found not guilty of racism, and was banned for three league matches. On 17 September 2007,
Libourne's
Burkinabe player
Boubacar Kébé was abused by fans of
Bastia; he was red-carded for retaliating. In February 2008, Bastia was again at the centre of controversy when their fans unfurled a racist banner which read as "Kébé, on n'est pas raciste... La preuve on t'encule!" (''Kébé, we are not racists... we'll fuck you to prove it!''), again aimed at Kébé, which delayed the kick-off of the match by three minutes. On 17 February 2008,
Abdeslam Ouaddou of
Valenciennes was racially abused by a fan from opponents
Metz; Metz and the
Ligue de Football Professionnel announced that they would be suing the fan in question. The match referee did not see the incident, and so booked Ouaddou for challenging the fan. Valenciennes Chairman Francis Decourrière later demanded that the match be replayed "in front of children from Valenciennes and Metz". Following this incident, the
French Football Federation made steps to introduce harsher punishments. In March 2008, Bastia's
Frédéric Mendy claimed he had been racially abused by
Grenoble fans. In November 2013, former defender and the
France national team's most-capped player,
Lilian Thuram, has said white players need to show solidarity with players who receive racist abuse, saying, "The action of not saying anything – somehow – it makes you an accomplice." On 13 November 2020, during the match between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Marseille, the PSG striker
Neymar risked to be suspended for 10 matches after racially abusing Marseille's Japanese fullback
Hiroki Sakai twice by calling him a "fucking Chinese" after telling Sakai to "go away" after Marseille player
Álvaro González called Neymar ("fucking monkey" after the latter called Gonzalez a "fucking faggot". On 8 December 2020 a
Champions League match between
Paris Saint-Germain and
Istanbul Basaksehir was suspended after the fourth official allegedly used a racist term towards Istanbul assistant coach,
Pierre Webó. The incident occurred 14 minutes into the game. Istanbul players left the pitch in protest with PSG players following. The match was abandoned and was scheduled to recommence on 9 December. On 29 November 2021 after a 1-0 win from
Troyes, South Korean striker
Suk Hyun-jun was racially abused by reserve players of Marseille, who were caught saying "Le samouraï nous a decoupé deux fois" ("The
samurai cut down us twice"), when the South Korean striker made a late tackle on Marseille player
Pape Gueye, which was followed by "Il va faire des sushis" ("He [Suk] is going to make some
sushi [out of him]"), around 10 minutes before the end of the match. Three days later Marseille condemned the incident stating "Olympique de Marseille joined the Troyes club in strongly condemning the remarks made towards Suk Hyun-jun... OM also offers its full support to the Troyes player". In September 2022, during a friendly match between Brazil and Tunisia in Paris, Brazilian striker
Richarlison had bananas thrown at him by fans. In December 2022,
Kylian Mbappé,
Kingsley Coman,
Randal Kolo Muani, and
Aurélien Tchouameni were racially abused after their team's loss in the
2022 FIFA World Cup final. In April 2023, PSG manager
Christophe Galtier was accused of making racist comments whilst
Nice manager, which he denied. In July 2023 it was announced that he would face trial in December. At the trial he denied the allegations. Galtier was acquitted of the charges by the court. After the match between France and Argentina on the 2024 Paris Olympics, the social media accounts of
Jean-Philippe Mateta and
Loïc Badé were attacked with racist language and imagery. In September 2024, PSG player
Nuno Mendes was subjected to racism following a match, and in November 2024, Nantes player
Sorba Thomas was also racially abused following a match.
Germany In 1994,
Borussia Dortmund star
Júlio César threatened to leave the club after he was refused admission to a local nightclub because of him being black. In December 2005, in a game between
FC Energie Cottbus and
Dynamo Dresden, Cottbus displayed a large banner with the word "Juden" lined with the two stars of David. The "d" in "Juden" was based on the emblem of Dynamo Dresden. No penalties on this act of antisemitism were imposed nor was the banner confiscated, though it was quite publicized in the media. On 25 March 2006, in a match between
Sachsen Leipzig and
Hallescher FC, Leipzig's Nigerian midfielder
Adebowale Ogungbure was spat at and called a "
nigger" and "ape" by opposition fans, who later aimed monkey noises at him. In retaliation he placed two fingers above his mouth in reference to Hitler's mustache and performed a
Nazi salute. Ogungbure was arrested by German police, as it is illegal to make Nazi gestures for political or abusive purposes, but criminal proceedings were dropped 24 hours later. In April 2006, in a match between St. Pauli and
Chemnitzer FC, visiting Chemnitz fans stormed Turkish-owned stores chanting "
Sieg Heil" and waving imitation Nazi flags. Some shouted, "We're going to build a subway from St Pauli to
Auschwitz." and were subsequently found guilty; the team was fined $25,000. On 19 August 2007, it was announced that Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper
Roman Weidenfeller would be investigated by the
German Football Association (DFB) after apparently calling Asamoah a "black pig". On 4 February 2007, a racist German football fan was apprehended by fellow fans during a match between Energie Cottbus and
VfL Bochum, and faces a lifetime ban. Racist chants in
Cottbus are said to be commonplace. On 22 July 2018,
Mesut Özil (of Turkish origin) announced his retirement from the German national team, citing racism. He Tweeted in his statement posted on Twitter, Özil wrote: "In the eyes of
Grindel and his supporters, I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose." The incident followed controversy in the German media following his photo with Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In February 2020, an entire stadium chanted "Nazis out" during a game between
Preussin Munster and
Wurzburger Kickers after a fan made monkey noises towards defender
Leroy Kwadwo. On 20 March 2021, Borussia Dortmund midfielder
Jude Bellingham received racist abuse on Instagram after his side drew 2–2 with
FC Köln. In May 2021,
Hertha Berlin sacked
Jens Lehmann after a racist
WhatsApp message to
Dennis Aogo was made public. In 2022, during
WELT-TV's coverage of the
2022 FIFA World Cup, German former footballer and pundit
Jimmy Hartwig was criticised on social media by fans after two videos of him were published. In the first video, where he analysed
Germany's early exit from the tournament with the WELT-TV host Carsten Hädler, Hartwig uttered the words "
ching chang chong" followed by a
bow, perceived as racism against
East Asians, with a presumably Japanese Twitter user accused Hartwig of hypocrisy, by telling in a post that "Jimmy Hartwig says he is against racism based on his own experiences, but it's a pity that he did not hesitate discriminating against Asians with "ching chang chong"". The second video was when Hartwig and two other commentators, commenting about the last two group stage matches, said that Germany did not had a chance of winning the World Cup and that he hoped that
Spain won, referring to Spain as "the
toreros" and
Japan as "the rice department" ("Reisabteilung"). The WELT management company removed the videos from
YouTube and Hartwig posted an apology on his
Instagram. In June 2024, national team manager
Julian Nagelsmann criticised national broadcaster ARD for a poll regarding the ethnicity of national team players, with Nagelsmann saying it was "racist". In July 2024, the under-18 team of English club Liverpool twice walked off the pitch during Bundesliga Cup matches against Hoffenheim and Frankfurt, due to racism directed towards one of their players.
Greece In November 2023, Aberdeen player
Pape Habib Guèye was allegedly racially abused by
PAOK fans. UEFA said they would investigate the matter.
Hungary On 8 June 2021, prior to a friendly game between Hungary and the Republic of Ireland, the Irish players had been booed by Hungarian fans prior to kick-off for
taking the knee in a symbolic gesture against racism. On 2 September 2021, England players
Raheem Sterling and
Jude Bellingham were both racially abused in Hungary's World Cup qualifier game with England and fans loudly booed the English players prior to kick off for taking the knee to protest against racism. Hungary's players and manager
Marco Rossi had asked supporters to respect England's gesture before the match. In July 2024, Hungary was one of seven countries who were sanctioned by UEFA following racism from their fans during Euro 2024. In In that same year, Júnior also suffered another incident of racism. After Torino played an away match against
AC Milan, Milan's supporters repeatedly shouted insults and spat at him while he was going out of the field with his mother and his godfather. In 1989, after
Udinese paid
Standard Liège £ 1.500.000 to sign
Israeli striker
Ronny Rosenthal, the team directors were under pressure from Hooligans Teddy Boys, an extremist fringe of the Udinese's
ultras, which sent
blackmail letter signed with a
swastika to club president Giampaolo Pozzo to not sign a Jewish footballer and vandalized the club's headquarters with
antisemitic writings such as
Non vogliamo ebrei al Friuli ("We don't want
Jews at the
Friuli"), "Rosenthal, vai al forno" ("Rosenthal, go to
the oven"). and
Rosenthal Go Home, this latter being accompanied by a
skull with crossed bones. As a result of this intimidatory behaviour, Udinese signed
Abel Balbo instead. The media outcry resulted in a
parliamentary interrogation, and later, Rosenthal sued the club for moral damages: in 1995, the Italian judicial authorities found the club responsible of discriminatory behaviour, sentencing it to a compensation of 61 million
lire. This was not the first time a player was threatened by said fringe of Udinese's ultras: In October 1986, Udinese's
Peruvian striker
Geronimo Barbadillo was target of racial abuse by said fans, who vandalized the perimeter walls of his residence with insults such as "
Negro di merda, vattene" (
Fucking nigger, go away") and sending death threats to him and his family via telephone after the club was consensually negotiating the termination of his contract to sign with
Daniel Bertoni. Black footballers playing in the
Serie A top flight in 1992–93 were also racially abused. Two black Dutch players,
Ruud Gullit and
Aron Winter, have spoken out against such racist taunts. Their complaints spurred a day of action on 13 December 1992, with the slogan "
No al razzismo!" ("No to racism") being paraded by all players in the two Italian divisions.
Paul Ince also complained about open abuse during his spell with
Inter Milan in Italy between 1995 and 1997. They were handed a one-game home fan ban as a result. At
UEFA Euro 2012 playing for
Italy, he fell victim to monkey chants during a match against
Spain. After Italy defeated
England in the quarter-finals, Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport published a cartoon depicting Balotelli as
King Kong on top of
Big Ben. After his move from
Milan to
Liverpool in August 2014, he was the target of more than 8,000 abusive posts on social media between that time, and by March 2015, more than 4,000 of these posts were racist in nature. On 3 January 2013, then-Milan midfielder
Kevin Prince-Boateng, as well as the remainder of his Milan teammates, walked off the pitch early in a friendly match against lower league side
Pro Patria after enduring racial abuse from fans of the latter. On 11 May 2014, bananas were thrown at Milan's
Kévin Constant and
Nigel de Jong, both black, by
Atalanta fans during their Milan's 2–1 defeat. Atalanta were later fined €40,000. On 12 June 2015, Croatian national team supporters marked a swastika on the soccer pitch prior to their match against the Italy national team. As a punishment, The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) ordered a £70,000 fine to the Croatians. On top of the fine, the Croatian team was forced to play their next two home matches in an empty stadium. In April 2019, Juventus forward
Moise Kean was subject to racist chants by
Cagliari fans. Juventus teammate
Leonardo Bonucci was heavily criticised after stating that Kean was partly to blame by his celebration which caused further jeers, by England international
Raheem Sterling who deemed the comments 'laughable', compatriot
Mario Balotelli, English singer
Stormzy, and former Juventus player
Paul Pogba. Bonucci implied that Kean's celebration caused further jeers, stating to
Sky Sport Italia: "Kean knows that when he scores a goal, he has to focus on celebrating with his teammates. He knows he could've done something differently too. There were racist jeers after the goal,
Blaise heard it and was angered. I think the blame is 50–50, because Moise shouldn't have done that and the Curva should not have reacted that way. We are professionals, we have to set the example and not provoke anyone." Later, he made a post on
Instagram which read "Regardless of everything, in any case... no to racism." In August 2019,
Romelu Lukaku was racially abused by Cagliari opposition fans. He later said that the sport was "going backwards" on racism. An Inter fan group called Curva Nord later said that the monkey chants from opposition fans were a sign of respect towards Lukaku. Italian TV pundit Luciano Passirani was later banned for making racist comments about Lukaku. On 15 September 2019,
Franck Kessie was reportedly racially abused by Hellas Verona fans during a match with AC Milan. On 16 September 2019, Hellas Verona released a statement on their Twitter account and denied the happening. Later that month, Piara Powar of anti-discriminatory body Fare said that "the rot is deep" when discussing racism in Italian football. In September 2019, FIFA President
Gianni Infantino said the Italian FA should issue stadium bans for racist fans/clubs. Later that month
Roma said they had banned a fan for racially abusing
Juan Jesus. In October 2019,
Lazio were punished with a fine and a closed stadium after fans had been racist. In the same month,
Sampdoria and England Under-21s midfielder
Ronaldo Vieira was the target of alleged monkey chants from
Roma fans in the 0-0 draw between the two sides. In November 2019, Mario Balotelli was racially abused by opposition fans from Hellas Verona; he kicked the ball into the crowd and threatened to walk off the pitch. Balotelli later described the fans as "small minded". Hellas Verona banned the club's ultra leader from its games until June 2030, after a subsequent interview with him in which he openly called Balotelli racial slurs. In December 2019 the
Corriere dello Sport newspaper was criticised by
AS Roma for using a 'Black Friday' headline accompanied by photographs of black players
Romelu Lukaku and
Chris Smalling. Later that month
Serie A launched an anti-racism campaign featuring cartoon monkeys, which was criticised, with club
AC Milan distancing itself from the campaign. Serie A later apologised. On 12 September 2021,
Tiémoué Bakayoko and Franck Kessie were targets of racial abuse by Lazio fans after Milan's 2-0 win. The incident was reported to be examined by the Italian Football Federation after a complaint from Milan. Bakayoko responded on Instagram: "To some Lazio fans and their racist cries towards to me and my brother [Kessie]. We are strong and proud of our skin colour. I have all my confidence in our club to identify them." On 4 October 2021, following
Napoli's 2–1 win against
Fiorentina, Kalidou Koulibaly along with several other black players of Napoli including
Victor Osimhen and
André-Frank Zambo Anguissa were subjected to monkey chants. Fiorentina's general manager Joe Barone had publicly apologised to the players targeted. Koulibaly posted on Twitter calling for those who perpetrated the racial abuse to receive lifetime bans. In October 2021 during an under-21 European Championship between Sweden and Italy, Swedish player
Anthony Elanga was allegedly racially abused by an opponent. Italy denied the allegation in a statement: "With regards to the Swedish FA's claim and published by various media outlets, the FIGC deny in the strongest way possible the one of our under-21 players, during the Italy-Sweden game played in Monza yesterday, aimed a racist insult at an opposition player - an incident which, as far as we are aware, has not been founded by any match official or UEFA delegate". On 20 March 2022, Milan players
Fikayo Tomori and
Mike Maignan were racially abused by Cagliari supporters after a 1-0 victory; Milan manager
Stefano Pioli said both players told him they overheard racial abuse from the Cagliari end. Cagliari striker
João Pedro claimed the allegations are false and defended his club's fans. In January 2023, Lazio were ordered to close part of their stadium due to racist chants from their fans. In April 2023,
Romelu Lukaku suffered racist abuse from Juventus fans after scoring a late equaliser. Juventus were punished with a one-match partial stadium closure as punishment. In June 2023, the Italian FA announced a ban of the number 88 on player shirts, due to anti-semitic connotations. In January 2024, after Milan goalkeeper
Mike Maignan was allegedly racially abused by Udinese fans, he and his teammates walked off the pitch. Following the incident, FIFA president
Gianni Infantino said teams whose fans are racist should automatically forfeit games. Udinese also had to play their next game behind closed doors. Initially one Udinese fan was banned for life, before a further four received similar punishments. In March 2024, Napoli player
Juan Jesus was allegedly racially abused by Inter Milan player
Francesco Acerbi, although no punishment was given due to lack of evidence. Napoli's player later
took the knee in protest. In July 2024, South Korean player
Hwang Hee-chan was allegedly subjected to racism from a Como player in a pre-season friendly. His club Wolves complained, and the South Korean FA contacted FIFA regarding the incident. In October 2024, Como player
Marco Curto was given a 10-game ban by FIFA for the incident.
Lithuania On 24 March 2007, in a match between France and
Lithuania, a banner was unfurled by Lithuanian supporters that depicted a map of Africa, painted with the French flag colors (blue, white and red), with a slogan of "Welcome to Europe."
Montenegro In a match between
Rangers and
Zeta in August 2007, Rangers players
DaMarcus Beasley (an
African American) and
Jean-Claude Darcheville (a black Frenchman) were subjected to racist abuse by Zeta players and Zeta were later fined £9,000. In March 2019, during a match between Montenegro and England, several England players were allegedly subjected to monkey chants from Montenegro fans. UEFA charged the Montenegro FA with racist behaviour. Ex-player John Barnes said calls for players to walk off the pitch wouldn't work. As of April 2019, UEFA has punished Montenegro for their fans' racial abuse to some of the black players in the England national team. It occurred in a Euro 2020 qualifier between the two sides. The punishment includes paying a 20,000 euro fine and being forced to play their next qualifying match behind closed doors in an empty stadium. The Football Association has commented by saying that they hope the punishment "sends out a message" to those who feel inclined to racially abuse others.
Netherlands In the 1980s
Stanley Menzo was subjected to racist abuse from fans. In a 1991 interview,
Heerenveen manager
Fritz Korbach racially abused two black players, calling
Bryan Roy "a short fucking negro" and
Romário "that
coffee bean of
PSV"). Furtherly, Korbach also insulted
Simon Tahamata, who was of
Moluccan descent, calling him a "
train hijacker". During
UEFA Euro 1996, the Afro-Surinamese Dutch player
Edgar Davids was sent home after publicly alleging discrimination within the team's organization. In November 2006,
Kenneth Perez received a five-game ban for shouting 'kankerneger', ('cancerous negro') at black linesman Nicky Siebert. In November 2011,
Guyon Fernandez received a six-game ban for hitting opposition player
Rens van Eijden. Fernandez claimed he was reacting to racist abuse from Van Eijden. During the
2012–13 KNVB Cup quarter-final match between
FC Den Bosch and
AZ Alkmaar, American AZ Alkmaar forward
Jozy Altidore was the target of racist chants. Den Bosch's director, Peter Bijvelds, blamed "malicious supporters making a scandalous mess of the evening". He said Den Bosch, AZ and the referee considered abandoning the match, but decided against it. In November 2019
Ahmad Mendes Moreira was subjected to racism from opposition FC Den Bosch fans. Den Bosch initially tried to claim the sounds were crows, but later apologised for the claim. A few days later, Dutch international
Georginio Wijnaldum celebrated an international goal by gesturing at his skin colour in support of Mendes Moreira, and later that month it was announced that players in the Dutch top two divisions would not play for the 1st minute of the next weekend's games in protest at racism. In October 2024,
Loum Tchaouna was racially abused in a match against Twente.
North Macedonia In July 2025,
Aramide Oteh was racially abused by a fan in a match against
FK Shkendija.
Norway In one case, young player Caleb Francis was severely abused in his debut match for
Kongsvinger IL. The abuse halted and nearly broke his career, but he returned to Kongsvinger's senior team after two years, and had a long career. Several other players have experienced racism, often while playing national or club matches abroad. These players include
Daniel Braaten and
Pa Modou Kah. Top-tier club
Vålerenga Fotball famously played their with the slogan "Vålerenga Against Racism" instead of a
shirt sponsor in the 1997 season. An official campaign, initiated by the footballers' trade union, is called "Give Racism the Red Card".
Poland According to
The Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism, football stadiums in Poland are a recruiting ground for extremist organisations. ,
neo-fascist symbols were a common sight there. During the Extraordinary Congress of the International Football Federation (FIFA), held in
Buenos Aires from 6–7 July 2001, the problem of racism in Polish football was discussed and Polish national football association was called to join the struggle against racism. In April 2008,
ŁKS Łódź player
Arkadiusz Mysona wore a shirt which said "
Śmierć żydzewskiej kurwie" ("Death to
Widzew-Jewish Whore", which is word play used by the LKS Łódź supporters, who call fans of their local rivals "Jews") after a match in the Polish
Ekstraklasa. Mysona said afterwards that the shirt was given to him by a fan and he had not checked it. In 2003, the Polish anti-racist
"Never Again" Association organized a tournament with the slogan "Let's Kick Racism out of the Stadiums", imploring the
Polish Football Association to act against racism in the sport. In 2012, ahead of
UEFA Euro 2012, the Polish anti-racist "Never Again" Association launched one of the most extensive anti-racist campaigns in football, as a long-standing partner of the
Fare network. The
BBC Panorama program toured football matches in Poland before UEFA Euro 2012, jointly held in Poland and Ukraine. The journalists recorded "a chorus of anti-Semitic chanting" and witnessed "black football players enduring monkey chants from the terraces". In March 2025, the
Football Association of Ireland reported a racist incident in an under-17 match in Poland.
Portugal In 2015,
Portuguese international player
Renato Sanches was targeted with monkey chants by
Rio Ave supporters while leaving the pitch in a
Benfica match at Vila do Conde. The player jokingly responded to the chants by clapping and making a monkey pose. In 2017, former Benfica footballer
Nélson Semedo was racially insulted in a match at
Vitória de Guimarães. He did not leave the pitch and chairs were thrown at him after he reacted to the racial slurs. In 2020, former
Porto footballer
Moussa Marega left the pitch after he was subjected to racists insults at Vitória de Guimarães. In February 2026, the Champions League match between Benfica and Real Madrid was temporarily halted due to alleged racist abuse of Madrid's
Vinicius Junior by Benfica player
Gianluca Prestianni. Prestianni denied the allegations, but received a provisional one-match ban, although continued to train with the Benfica team. Later that month, Benfica banned 5 fans for racism. Prestianni later received a six-match ban for
homophobic abuse of Vinicius.
Republic of Ireland Cyrus Christie revealed that he was subjected to racist abuse whilst on international duty with
Republic of Ireland outside the training ground when he first joined up, and also revealed that he was receiving racist abuse after games. In March 2023, the Irish under-15 national team were subject to racist abuse.
Romania The publicized display of portraits of Romania's World War II leader and convicted war criminal
Ion Antonescu and racist slogans by
football hooligans during
Liga I's
2005–2006 season prompted
UEFA intervention (
see Racism Breaks the Game). On 15 November 2019, Swedish player
Alexander Isak suffered allegedly racist abuse from Romanian fans during a match between the two countries. The match was initially halted, but continued after Isak and the referee consulted on the matter. UEFA investigated and found there had been no racism. In July 2024, Romania was one of seven countries who were sanctioned by UEFA following racism from their fans during Euro 2024.
Russia Cameroonian player
André Bikey suffered racist abuse while playing for
Lokomotiv Moscow. Brazilian footballer
Antonio Geder of
Saturn Moscow was received with monkey chants at
Petrovsky Stadium in a match against
Zenit Saint Petersburg. In March 2008, black players of French side
Marseille, including
André Ayew,
Ronald Zubar and
Charles Kaboré, were targeted by fans of Zenit Saint Petersburg; Zenit fans were later warned by police in
Manchester not to repeat their behaviour ahead of the
2008 UEFA Cup Final. Later on, Zenit coach
Dick Advocaat revealed the club's supporters were racist. When they attempted to sign
Mathieu Valbuena, a Frenchman, many fans asked "Is he a
negro?" On 20 August 2010,
Peter Odemwingie, a Russian-born Nigerian international, joined English
Premier League team
West Bromwich Albion. Shortly after signing, photographs showed Lokomotiv Moscow fans celebrating the sale of Odemwingie through the use of racist banners targeted at the player. One banner included the image of a banana and read "Thanks West Brom". On 12 February 2011,
Roberto Carlos signed a contract with Russian Premier League club
Anzhi Makhachkala. In March, during a game away at Zenit Saint Petersburg, a banana was held near the player by one of the fans as the footballer was taking part in a flag-raising ceremony. In June, in a match away at Krylia Sovetov Samara, Roberto Carlos received a pass from the goalkeeper and was about to pass it when a banana was thrown onto the pitch, landing nearby. The 38-year-old Brazilian picked it up and threw it by the sidelines, walking off the field before the final whistle and raising two fingers at the stands, indicating this was the second such incident since March. In December 2012, Zenit fans published a manifesto demanding that the club exclude all non-white and homosexual players from the club's roster. The demands were refused by the club, which released a statement saying that "the team's policy is aimed at development and integration into the world soccer community, and holds no archaic views". Until the summer of 2012, Zenit was the only team in the Russian top flight never to have signed a minority player. In October 2013,
Manchester City midfielder
Yaya Touré received racist abuse from opposition fans whilst playing against
CSKA Moscow in Russia. The club's stadium was partially closed as punishment. Touré suggested that black players might boycott the
2018 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Russia, if racism continued in the country. In September 2014,
Dynamo Moscow defender
Christopher Samba was racially abused playing in the Moscow derby against
Torpedo Moscow. As a result, Torpedo were forced to close part of their stadium, although Samba was also banned for two games for swearing at the racist fans. In a friendly match between Russia and France in Saint Petersburg on 17 April 2018, monkey chants were directed at members of the French team. The noises were picked up by television cameras and reported by photographers at the side of the pitch. As a result, "disciplinary actions have been opened against the Russian Football Union (RFU) for this incident", a FIFA statement read. In March 2019
Pavel Pogrebnyak was accused of racism after saying it was "laughable" for black players to represent the Russian national team.
Serbia In October 2006, 37
Borac Čačak fans were arrested and eight faced criminal charges after racially abusing the club's Zimbabwean player
Mike Temwanjera during a first division match. Borac Čačak was at the centre of more controversy in March 2008 when a Ghanaian player, Solomon Opoku, was attacked by fans; six fans were later arrested, with four being later charged. On 29 November 2006,
Hajduk Kula coach
Nebojša Vučićević racially insulted
Red Star Belgrade's Senegalese defender
Ibrahima Gueye. The coach responded to the accusation: "I told my players several times to put pressure on the black guy, I don't see anything wrong with that." Following racist abuse from Montenegrin club
Zeta fans,
DaMarcus Beasley, during his stint with Scottish side
Rangers, recalled previous instances of racism whilst playing away in Belgrade from fans of Red Star. Red Star, however, has been defended by some of its black players, such as
Segundo Castillo and
Franklin Salas, with Castillo saying that, "Red Star fans are not racist." Rangers boss
Walter Smith stated he had not heard the abuse, having been absorbed in the game. Efforts to stop the taunts failed and the opposing team joined in the racist actions, leaving Luiz in tears. On 18 February 2021,
AC Milan forward
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was subjected to racist abuse by an individual seated in the VIP box during a
Europa League match against
Red Star Belgrade. In June 2024, during the
UEFA Euro 2024 tournament in Germany, Serbian fans were accused of racism towards England players. In July 2024, Serbia was one of seven countries who were sanctioned by UEFA following racism from their fans during Euro 2024.
Slovenia In July 2024, Slovenia was one of seven countries who were sanctioned by UEFA following racism from their fans during Euro 2024. and a middle-aged man from Madrid saying on live TV that "that fucking nigger from Rayo" and the referee
Juan Andújar Oliver were to blame for Real Madrid's defeat, much to the amusement of the teenage fans who shouted "Ku Klux Klan". In the same live TV report, a 13-year old Real Madrid fan furiously took the microphone and spat, making a verbal threat to the Nigerian goalkeeper saying "Sunday we'll go to beat to death the nigger, that son of a bitch, in Vallecas". When asked about the abuse suffered, Wilfred stated "That's normal, I am dark-skinned and having made many saves, I expected people to shout at me. But I am a footballer and this is nothing, I am very focused on [playing] my match". The Bukaneros, a far-left ultras group from Rayo Vallecano, dedicated to Wilfred a graffiti with the dedication "For your defense of the Sash against racism, we will not forget you". which referenced the Nigerian striker, who then, was his teammate for the
culés.
Aston Villa's
Dalian Atkinson returned from Spain after one season with
Real Sociedad, unhappy with the reception he received and identifying racial abuse as a major factor in his rapid departure from the Spanish club. During a training session in 2004, a Spanish TV crew filmed
Spain national team head coach
Luis Aragonés trying to motivate
José Antonio Reyes by making offensive and racist references to Reyes' then-teammate at
Arsenal,
Thierry Henry. The phrase used was "
Demuestra que eres mejor que ese negro de mierda", translated as "Show that you're better than that fucking black guy". The incident caused uproar in the British media, with calls for Aragonés to be sacked. When Spain played
England in a
friendly match at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium soon after, on 17 November 2004, the atmosphere was hostile. Whenever black England players touched the ball, a significant proportion of the Spanish crowd began to make monkey chants, in particular to
Shaun Wright-Phillips and
Ashley Cole. Additionally, when England sang their national anthem before kick-off, Spanish fans also racially chanted English players. Aragonés' remarks were widely blamed by the British press for inciting the incident. After an investigation into the events during the match,
UEFA fined the
Royal Spanish Football Federation 100,000
CHF (
US$87,000) and warned that any future incidents would be punished more severely. The incident even drew reactions from then-
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair and Sports Minister
Richard Caborn, with the latter making the claim that the behaviour of Spanish fans was 20 or 30 years behind that of their British counterparts. UEFA noted that possible punishments could include suspension from major international tournaments or the closure of Spain home international matches to supporters. On 7 February 2007, Aragonés won an appeal over the offence, with the misdemeanour being downgraded to "conduct which could be considered to be racist". In February 2005,
Samuel Eto'o received racially driven verbal abuse from some
Real Zaragoza spectators during a match for
Barcelona. The fans began making monkey-like chants whenever Eto'o had possession of the ball and peanuts were hurled onto the pitch. Eto'o threatened to leave the pitch in the middle of the game, but was prevented by the intervention of his teammates and the referee, who rushed to the pitch to calm him down. His black teammate
Ronaldinho, who has suffered similar abuses but less intensely, said he was fed-up with the sounds and that if Eto'o had left the pitch, he would have done the same. As Barcelona won 4–1, Eto'o danced like a monkey, saying rival fans were treating him as a monkey. Referee Fernando Carmona Méndez did not mention the incidents in his match report, commenting only that the behaviour of the crowd was "normal". Eto'o declared in the aftermath that the punishment was insufficient and that
La Romareda, Real Zaragoza's stadium, should have been closed for at least one year. However, Eto'o's coach,
Frank Rijkaard, told him to concentrate on football and to stop talking about the incident. Eto'o has stated that he does not take his children to football matches due to the prevalent racism and has also suggested that players walk off if they become victims of racism. Many African footballers have also been victims of racial abuse, such as the Cameroonian
Carlos Kameni, who was abused while playing for
Espanyol against
Atlético Madrid, who were fined €6,000. On 27 April 2014, Barcelona player
Dani Alves was targeted by
Villarreal fans, who threw a banana at him. Alves picked up the banana, peeled it, and took a bite. Teammate and also Brazilian player
Neymar's response, to post a photograph of himself on social media also eating a banana, went viral. Other footballers have also since taken photographs of themselves eating bananas.
Cyrille Regis, who had been racially abused while a player in the 1970s and '80s, expressed concern that the viral campaign would detract from the important issues of combating racism in the game. Alves said that whoever threw the banana at him should be publicly shamed, and on 30 April 2014, a man was arrested in connection with the incident. Villarreal were later fined €12,000 for the incident. In early May 2014, Levante's
Papakouli Diop complained of receiving racist abuse from opposition Atlético Madrid fans. Espanyol banned 12 supporters after they were identified as having subjected
Athletic Bilbao player
Iñaki Williams to racist abuse in a match in January 2020. On 4 April 2021, the players of
Valencia left the pitch during a La Liga game against
Cádiz after their player,
Mouctar Diakhaby, was allegedly subjected to racist abuse. In September 2022, Real Madrid player
Vinícius Júnior was criticised on television for dancing whilst celebrating a goal; the player said that criticism, which compared him to a "monkey", was racist. Following this, some fans of
Atlético Madrid were accused of singing racist songs about Vinícius, which was condemned by La Liga. Vinícius later said that
La Liga did not do anything about racists, a few days after which La Liga announced that they had filed charges against those accused. In February 2023 it was revealed that nobody in Spain "has been sentenced or punished for a racist incident related to football". In January 2023, Vinícius was targeted when an effigy of him was hung outside Real Madrid's training ground. Three people were initially arrested, and eventually four men were later fined and banned from stadiums for their role. In February 2023, Vinícius was racially abused by a Mallorca fan, who later received a suspended prison sentence. In May 2023, Real Madrid's game against
Valencia was halted after Vinícius was racially abused. Valencia received a fine and had their south stand closed for 5 games as punishment, which was reduced to 2 games on appeal. The three fans who abused him were later jailed. Vinícius was also allegedly racially abused by Barcelona fans in October 2023 in an
El Clasico match, and by a child at a Valencia game in March 2024. Vinícius had allegedly threatened not to play in the latter game after Real Madrid's social media posted a photo of him kissing the club badge above a logo showing men evolving from monkeys. Following the same game, Valencia player
Peter, on loan from Real Madrid, closed his social media accounts after suffering online racist abuse from Real Madrid fans. In March 2024, Vinícius also suffered racist abuse in a match against Osasuna; Real Madrid complained after the referee did not include the incident in his match report. He later said that the racism he encountered - including 10 incidents in the 2022–23 season - made him feel less like playing the sport. Journalist Marcus Alves later said that Vinícius was "leading football's fight against racism". In November 2024, a minor who admitted racially abusing Vinícius at a
Rayo Vallecano game received a ban. In March 2024, Sevilla players and coaches, including player
Marcos Acuna and manager
Quique Sanchez Flores, suffered racist abuse in a match against Getafe. In April 2024, player
Cheikh Kane Sarr was banned for two matches after confronting an opposition fan who racially abused him. Sarr later spoke out in support of Vinícius, whilst
Jude Bellingham said authorities needed to do more to deal with racism. Later that month, Barcelona were fined following racist behaviour from fans in a match against Paris-SG, whilst
Nico Williams accused
Atletico Madrid fans of racially abusing him. In September 2024, following racism from Barcelona fans in a match against French club Monaco, the club was subject to a ticket ban. In October 2024, Barcelona player
Lamine Yamal was racially abused by Real Madrid fans. The same season, Real Madrid were fined twice by UEFA for racist incidents against
Arsenal and
Manchester City, receiving a suspended partial stadium closure for the latter incident. In January 2025, Barcelona player
Alejandro Balde was racially abused by Getafe fans. In February 2025, the match between Espanyol and Athletic Bilbao was paused after Bilbao player
Maroan Sannadi after being allegedly racially abused by Espanyol fans. As of February 2026, Vinicius had been the victim of 20 alleged racist incidents in 8 years. That same month, a Real Madrid fan was arrested after an alleged Nazi salute during a match against Benfica. In March 2026, a La Liga game between Elche and Espanyol was paused following alleged racist abuse of Espanyol player
Omar El Hilali by Elche's
Rafa Mir. Later that month,
Lamine Yamal condemned racist and Islamophobic chants aimed at the Egypt national team.
Sweden In 2009, fans of Swedish football team
IFK Göteborg abused supporters of rivals
Malmö FF by referring to them as "
Rosengårdstattare" ("
Rosengård gypsies"), in a racist reference to the large immigrant population of
Malmö. Also, fans of
Helsingborgs IF have been known to yell monkey chants at opposing dark-skinned players. In June 2018, the Swedish National Team posted a
YouTube video of player
Jimmy Durmaz making a statement against racism in football. Durmaz stated that online he has been called "darkie, bloody Arab, terrorist, Taliban." In the video, Durmaz talks about his family and how they have also been targets of racism. At the end, Durmaz says "vi är eniga, vi är sverige, knulla rasism", which translates to "We are United, We are Sweden, F**k Racism".
Switzerland Fwayo Tembo left
Basel after he accused club coach
Thorsten Fink of making racist remarks towards him during a training session. Fink is reported to have told a collaborator to "get the monkey down from the tree".
Turkey On 15 April 2012,
Fenerbahçe's
Emre Belözoğlu was accused of making racist comments on the pitch towards
Trabzonspor's
Didier Zokora. After the match, Zokora told
Lig TV: Lip-reading professionals say Belözoğlu has said the words "fucking
nigger". Emre received a two-game ban for his actions after it was concluded that he had used abusive, but not racist, language by the authorities. There are still questions about the low ban he received. On 12 May 2013, before the match between Fenerbahçe and
Galatasaray, Galatasaray striker
Didier Drogba, along with his Ivorian international teammate
Emmanuel Eboué, were racially abused by certain Fenerbahçe fans during the pre-match warmups. They were allegedly shown bananas. Television cameras and some pictures clearly captured a fan waving around a banana, other fans had black trash bags on their heads and were pictured holding the brand of the beverage "Negro". Though there were no monkey chants or gestures of that sort, the "banana" caused a huge controversy and Fenerbahce has been condemned. This was the second ever known racism incident in Turkey, again involving Fenerbahçe following the events that took place between Belözoğlu and Zokora in 2012. In February 2025, Fenerbahçe manager
Jose Mourinho was accused of racism by Galatasaray due to comments made about Turkish referees following a match between the clubs. Mourinho later received a four-match ban for his comments, which was reduced to a two-match ban on appeal. Mourinho also filed a legal claim against Galatasaray.
United Kingdom In March 2024,
British Asian football fans spoke out about the racism they experience on social media.
England Scotland Andrew Watson was the first black football player to represent
Scotland. Watson never turned professional, however, so
Arthur Wharton is sometimes reported as being the first black British footballer. The book
Race, Sport and British Society says there was racist abuse of
Celtic player
Paul Wilson by
Rangers fans in the 1970s: "Rangers fans repeatedly bayed 'Wilson's a
Paki' when Celtic played Rangers." There have been reports that some Rangers fans used to sing "I'd rather be a darkie than a Tim", with "Tim" referring to a Celtic fan. The book
Sport and National Identity in the Post-War World states, "black players in Scotland were greeted with bananas thrown from the crowd and a barrage of 'monkey grunts', notably
Mark Walters of Rangers and
Paul Elliott of Celtic." It was reported that Rangers fans used "implicit racism" on the same day by singing "I'd rather be a darkie than a Tim". According to Walters, he experienced worse racial abuse in Edinburgh against
Hearts. Andrew Smith from
The Scotsman newspaper stated, "It is depressing to think that enforcement as much as enlightenment might account for Walters being the only black footballer in this country to have had bananas thrown at them." In March 2003, Rangers fans were accused of racially abusing
Bobo Baldé and
Mohammed Sylla. Rangers Chairman
John McClelland stated that, "There was such a crescendo during Saturday's match although I thought I heard noises of this kind I can't be 100% sure." In November 2004, then-manager of Celtic
Martin O'Neill suggested
Neil Lennon was the subject of chants of a "racial and sectarian manner". During a
2007 Scottish Cup tie,
St Johnstone player
Jason Scotland was the target of racist taunts by a handful of
Motherwell fans. The offenders were promptly reprimanded by the spectators around them and were reported to police and match stewards. Motherwell Chairman
John Boyle later issued an apology on behalf of the club. Motherwell were to court further controversy on 3 September 2007 when
Laryea Kingston of Hearts was abused, although Motherwell refuted the claims. In October 2009, Rangers player
Maurice Edu said he was racially abused by some Rangers fans while leaving
Ibrox after a
UEFA Champions League defeat by Romanian club
Unirea Urziceni. George Peat, president of the SFA, has suggested that the song causes embarrassment for Scottish football and should be stamped out. Peat has also stated that the SFA is determined to contribute to the eradication of offensive songs from Scottish football. In November 2008, a Rangers fan was found guilty of a breach of the peace (aggravated by religious and racial prejudice) for singing "The Famine Song" during a game against
Kilmarnock. It was widely reported after an Old Firm game in February 2009, Rangers fans had sung "The Famine Song" at Celtic Park.
The Famine Song was also sung in March 2011 at a Scottish football game by Rangers fans, nevertheless, Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill described the match as a "great advert for Scottish football".
The Herald journalist Doug Gillon has written that "the sectarian intolerance which divides Scottish society [...] is rooted in anti-Irish racism". In February 2011, in an Old Firm match at Celtic Park, a Celtic supporter was caught mocking black Rangers player
El Hadji Diouf with monkey noises and gestures as he was about to take a corner kick. In April 2011, then-manager of Celtic Neil Lennon received an explosive device in the post. Brian McNally described this as due to "anti-Catholic and anti-Irish racism". A number of high-profile Celtic fans also were sent suspected explosive devices. Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party Annabel Goldie MSP described bullets sent to Neil Lennon and a number of Celtic players as "racism and sectarianism". After an attempted assault on Neil Lennon at Hearts'
Tynecastle Stadium, a motion against anti-Irish racism was lodged in the Scottish Parliament. In October 2014, Celtic player
Aleksandar Tonev received a seven-match ban for racially abusing an opponent. In November 2018
Dennon Lewis spoke out about the racist abuse he has received from his club's (Falkirk's) own fans. In October 2019 Rangers player
Alfredo Morelos was allegedly racially abused by
Hearts fans during a match between the two sides. Later that month Celtic manager
Neil Lennon described racism in the sport as a "stain" and that players needed to be protected. In February 2020, a 12-year-old boy was charged with racist abuse aimed at Morelos.
Kilmarnock received a letter in December 2020 after a Boxing Day defeat, which contained racist abuse aimed at manager
Alex Dyer. In January 2021,
Dundee striker
Jonathan Afolabi received racist messages following a victory in the
Scottish Cup second round, which Dundee "utterly condemn". During a
Europa League game between
Rangers and
Slavia Prague on 18 March 2021, Rangers manager
Steven Gerrard claimed that
Glen Kamara was racially abused by
Ondřej Kúdela and called for
UEFA to take action. However, Slavia Prague denied the accusation of racism, instead stating that Kúdela was assaulted by Kamara. In a related incident, Rangers forward
Kemar Roofe was subjected to racist abuse on Instagram after getting sent off during that match. In October 2021, Dundee United player
Jeando Fuchs was allegedly racially abused by a Ross County fan during a match. In October 2022, Hibernian player
Jair Tavares was allegedly racially abused during a match against Dundee United. In October 2023, Hibernian player
Allan Delferriere was allegedly racially abused during a match against Ross County. St Johnstone player
Diallang Jaiyesimi was sent off during a match against Rangers on 20 December 2023, later suffering racist abuse on social media. In January 2025, Ross County goalkeeper
Jordan Amissah was allegedly racially abused in a match away at Aberdeen. In February 2026, Rangers players
Emmanuel Fernandez and
Djeidi Gassama suffered racist abuse following a match.
Wales On 10 February 2021,
Swansea City midfielder
Yan Dhanda who is of
British Asian background, was racially abused on social media following Swansea's defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup. The incident was passed to
South Wales Police for investigation. On 27 March 2021, following
Wales' 1-0 win against
Mexico, players
Ben Cabango and
Rabbi Matondo were subjected to racist abuse on social media. Fellow Wales player,
Gareth Bale said he would join a boycott of social media if more could not be done to combat racism across their platforms.
Thierry Henry said he is removing himself from social media because of racism and social injustice. On 8 April 2021, Swansea City announced a week-long boycott of all social media platforms by first team members and by the academy and women's teams, staff of the club and from the club's official accounts. In 2023, Cardiff City player
Rohan Luthra was racially abused by teammate
Jack Simpson, who later left the club. In April 2024, fans of Welsh club
Merthyr Town, who play in the English league system, were accused of racially abusing an opposition Hungerford Town player.
Ukraine In March 2019, English club Chelsea complained about alleged racism aimed at their player
Callum Hudson-Odoi during a match against
Dynamo Kyiv. Later that month UEFA said they would investigate. He was later offered counselling. In November 2019
Shakhtar Donetsk player
Taison was sent-off after reacting to alleged racist abuse, and was also given a one-match ban. ==Middle East==