Racism should not be in a sport like soccer. The sport is well known by everyone worldwide. People of different colors come together to play in gigantic tournaments around the world. However, there is always that one percent who decide to ruin it for everyone.

On April 4th, 2019, former Juventus prodigy Moise Kean was the victim of racist insults. Cagliari fans would not stop making monkey noises the entire game. He reacted by scoring a goal and celebrating boldly in front of the disrespectful fans. However, his reaction only made the situation worse. The fans chanted monkey noises, insults, and the referee had to halt the match! 

As unbelievable as that sounds, Kean is only one of thousands of players who were racially abused in Serie A. Current Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku was also the victim of monkey chants against Cagliari as well. Romelu stayed classy and ignored the fans. According to NBC News he later went on to say “Football is a game to be enjoyed by everyone, and we shouldn’t accept any form of discrimination that will put our game in shame,” he said. “I hope the football federations all over the world react strongly on all cases of discrimination.”

Inter Milan fans later gave out a statement via NBC News saying, “We understand it could have seemed racist to you, but it is not like that. Please consider this attitude of Italian fans as a form of respect for the fact they are afraid of you for the goals you may score against their team. Not because they hate you or they are racist.”This is a terrible defense statement because this only occurs when Black players are on goal, or when there is a free-kick, or penalty. If Italian fans are not racist, why does it only happen to players of color? Moreover, not only does Serie A suffer, but this is very common in Europe. Earlier in 2019, England players were also racially abused by fans of Montenegro. UEFA (Union of European Association), and FIFA (Futbol International Federation of Association Football) have done hardly anything to stop racism. Shaka Hislop, an ESPN analyst, and former player told NBCLK, “My biggest criticism of FIFA, in particular, is in their approach to the issue, an inability to almost follow through on their own promises,” said Hislop, who is also the honorary ambassador for the anti-racism education charity Show Racism the Red Card. “I can remember that not so long ago FIFA instituted a zero-tolerance around racism in sport. But then when these incidents occur, they are like, ‘Players shouldn’t walk off the field, and it’s just a minority of fans’. Whatever happened to zero tolerance?

Soccer or any sport does not need racism in it. The sport is adored by many people of different cultures. UEFA and FIFA need to step up and put an end to this dilemma. UEFA always says “No to Racism” but hardly means it. One way UEFA and FIFA could stop this is to fine teams for racist behavior. Another way they can put an end to this is to ban soccer fans who are racially abusing the players. It isn’t fair that players are being discriminated against for the color of their skin. This needs to stop!