Kick racism out of football says London Euro-MP

4.16.42pm UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 2nd Dec 2005

Sarah joined Islington schoolchildren at a 'Kick it Out' event at Arsenal football club, with Patrick Veiera and Robert Pires.

London's Liberal Democrat Euro-MP is backing a new campaign which has the support of UEFA to "kick racism out of football" across Europe.

Vice-president of the European Parliament's Anti-racism and Diversity Intergroup, Baroness Sarah Ludford is also urging other MEPs to support a call on UEFA for tough new rules contained in a "written declaration" on racism and football. This urges that referees should be granted the power to stop a match if serious racist abuse occurs.

"Racism is no more acceptable in the football world than it is anywhere else, and footballers have the right to a working environment free of racist abuse. Given the number of European competitions in which English and London teams now compete, it makes sense that the issue should be addressed on a European level."

MEPs are also calling for competition organizers to consider sanctions on clubs whose players or supporters commit serious racist offences, with the option of removing persistent offenders from competitions. Sarah Ludford added:

"Football's popularity makes it an ideal vehicle to spread the message that racist attitudes will not be tolerated in sport."

Note

A European Parliament "written declaration" is similar to an "Early Day Motion" at Westminster, a means for MEPs to make a political statement on a particular issue. It is launched by one or more MEPs, and then has three months to gain enough signatures to be debated as a resolution in the European Parliament (366 members, half of the European Parliament.)