Racism in football is everywhere; however certain clubs are beyond racist – they are called the ‘hooligan dens’. Racism in football has sparked up in the 21st century and yet FIFA is doing little to nothing about the mounting incidents. Racist chants, that are primarily based on the ethnicity of the players, are increasingly being used to attack footballers. FIFA is not tackling the problem effectively, and it is occurring more and more. In certain leagues, players of these ethnicity are terrified to play football – this has been occurring mainly in Eastern Europe because in these countries racism is a deep-rooted problem. This is tragic; there is less and less talent being developed in these leagues. It is their loss. Moreover, the associations that represent these leagues are doing nothing about it.

In Britain, racism in matches still occurs, but today is nowhere near the levels of the 1970s and 80s, when black players were abused with monkey noises and bananas. The recent reduction of British racism is due to the sustained campaign to ‘Stop It’. This was especially prevalent in the 1980s when Paul Canoville was the first black footballer to play for Chelsea. When the team sheet was announced with his name on it, the reaction was barbaric.  As Canoville warmed up, Chelsea supporters screamed racist obscenities. For a solid two years, the chanting continued. This was when Herman Ouseley, the Chair of the FA, had to step up to the plate. He had decided something had to be done.

Progress has been slow: there is a greater sense of equality and players such as Raheem Sterling, Anthony Martial and John Obi Mikel, who are household names in the Premier League,  are nowadays treated with the same respect as their peers. Moreover, such players as Yaya Toure are among the best-paid players in the world. This shows how in modern English football, racism has dramatically reduced. Other countries need to take note and follow our lead.

Elsewhere in Europe, particularly Eastern Europe, the problem may be more serious. In many cases, Nazi symbols may be used purely to shock and provoke, without knowing the full meaning of Nazism. However, even showing a swastika in public denotes a political stance that is racist and even if fans are displaying these in all ignorance they are taking a political stand. Racism in Eastern Europe remains at a consistent level. In my opinion, the major reason for this is due to a lack of affirmative action in tackling the hooligans. The problem is starting to be taken seriously across Europe and a number of campaigns have been launched such as: Show Racism the Red Card, the UK’s anti-racism educational charity. This charity was established in January 1996 and involves high-profile footballers joining together to help tackle the situation.

The success of these campaigns is difficult to tell, but the UK has seen a phenomenal decrease in racist behaviour at football grounds, according to a source from the Daily Mail. Hopefully these existing campaigns will make an impact in different countries in the future and help to bring about a shift in attitude .

Even though Russia, the host for the 2018 World Cup, is claiming to be putting in place tougher sanctions on racism, there is the possibility that black players will boycott the World Cup unless more is done to combat racism. If Russia does not attempt to take action, there’s a high chance that Black African teams may walk away, says Yaya Toure. I personally think Russia should not host the Cup, because there is still a high likelihood that racism within the country will persist. If Russia still has the privilege to host the Cup, it is possible that questions will be asked about FIFA, challenging whether or not it has taken racism into consideration. Visiting fans, players and managers run the risk of being racially abused by home fans.

Racially abused players should protest more and should not be afraid to do so. Taking a stand and being open about racism will in turn open the eyes of FIFA. It’s not just footballers who have been abused in the past or footballers who are currently being attacked who should take a stand: if everyone who loves the game joins together and speaks out, racism will be defeated.

An emotional event that occurred is when my mum made Fried rice instead of Jollof rice. That day was an emotional experience I felt lonely, inside of me was empty and I was down the blue, because my taste buds missed the delightful taste of Jollof rice.It has been long time since I tasted that phenomenal food. I asked my mum to make me Jollof rice however, it turned out she never heard what I requested and that’s when I began to feel rain drops pouring my eye. My nose could sent the trial and I Just knew she made Fried Rice. My Tears were about to pour like rain. Inside me my temperature rose immensely I could feel it. Outside of me was different story I was distraught could not take it, and when I hoped and prayed for my mum to make me Jollof Rice, has just drained down and been flushed away, now I was hopeless. I could even imagine eating Jollof Rice the orange juicy monster sizzling, spicy Jollof Rice jumping on my taste buds and I’m trying to absorb the flavor of each grain of rice. I could picture me eating Jollof Rice which even made me more depressed but I found it difficult to lose concentration with Jollof Rice.

The only satisfying thing about the Fried Rice is that chicken was with it as well, which surprisingly did not change my mood.

Strong Emotions

I loved her so much, she was my end and my beginning. The way that I used to admire her was simply inexplicable, and I got the impression that she felt the same way about me, that’s how I perceived it anyway. Clearly I was mistaken. From then everything went wrong, and I was left situated on my bed, clueless as to what had just happened, reminicing, registering into my brain, a piece of my heart felt like it was snatched away from me, from what seemed like one of the best things that had ever happened to me, had bitterly turned to something so sinister.

Looking back at the great moments we had, the memories were magical, especially when I met her for the first time, she gave me goosebumps at first sight. I had a breathtaking dream about her a night after the heartbreak, thinking she was there with me, but it turned out she was never there, and it was just me.

She was never just an ordinary girl, with an ordinary background, she was special, breathtaking, extraordinary, to say the least and now I know I will never find someone like her again, unfortunately. To be honest I don’t even know what I did wrong, or even why we were split apart. She said she “didnt have feelings for me anymore” eventhough about a week ago she was saying how affectionate she was for me, but I just cant get my head around how someone can be so sour, and betray you like you never meant one single thing to them. Well, I should’ve seen it coming anyway, she was acting particularily strange in the last few weeks of ‘us’, as in her making excuses for not going places with me and generally not caring for what I had to say, I obviously didnt pick up the hints until she told me that she would be going to stay with family in another country. Now this really did aggrevate me because not only did it show that she clearly had no respect for me by not telling me she was leaving but also that she didnt even have the decency to give me a heads up in advance.

So now knowing that she was leaving, potentially for a few months, maybe even forever, I really didnt have a clue. I really went through a tough time and had so many strong and mixed emotions, anger really was the prime one, but also disbelief that she, ever so quickly had done this to me. And I wont lie, I did still miss her and i still think about her to this day so you can probably imagine i was heartbroken aswell. But I promised myself and I have stuck to this promise all this time that I would go and see the plane take her away, mostly because indefinately, this was the last time I was ever going to see her again. Although she didn’t realise I was coming to see her I thought she would never know, and even if she did I could simply tell her it was supposed to be a suprise.