The International Soccer Federation (FIFA) should sponsor a more vigorous worldwide campaign against racism in soccer stadiums. This is the assessment made by Luciano Cerqueira, a researcher at the Brazilian Institute of Social and Economic Analyses (IBASE).
Cerqueira is also one of the coordinators of the Dialogues against Racism group, which is composed of non-governmental organizations.
"A much more vigorous educational campaign, including the distribution of informative material, is needed in the stadiums. FIFA has the capacity to do this, together with a strong television campaign against racism, but it has yet to take these stances," he criticized.
In Cerqueira’s view, the measures against racial discrimination announced by the FIFA in March are important, but they are insufficient to curb racist acts during soccer matches.
In an interview with the Agência Brasil, he said that one of these measures, placing a banner on the field with the words "Say No to Racism" before the start of World Cup soccer games in Germany, cannot produce the required effect.
Cerqueira pointed out that the measures announced by the federation three months ago include heavy fines and even the possibility of excluding a country from the qualifying rounds for the next World Cup, if its fans commit a racist act.
In his view, these still represent timid moves in relation to the dimensions of the problem.
Agência Brasil
