The shameful racist abuse of Raheem Sterling, Danny Rose and Callum Hudson-Odoi during England’s Euro 2020 qualifying match against Montenegro on Monday understandably triggered outrage in British football. Sadly, however, it is not the first time that black England players have been targeted during games in the Balkans. The scenes in the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica, were grimly similar to those in 2012, when again Rose was subjected to monkey chants during an England U21 game against Serbia in Kruševac, and to Zagreb in 2008, when Emile Heskey suffered the same ordeal playing against Croatia. England’s black players are not alone. A banana was thrown at the Italian international Mario Balotelli by Croatian fans at Euro 2012, Partizan Belgrade’s Brazilian midfielder Everton Luiz was abused by FK Rad fans in the Serbian SuperLiga a couple of years back – the list is depressingly long.
Racism in Balkan football is not new and other forms of discrimination, including homophobia, antisemitism or anti-Romany sentiment are widespread in the game – and beyond. On top of that, frequent expressions of ethnic hatred towards teams or players from neighbouring countries remain at the core of Balkan football fan culture. The lack of diversity and social debate about racism in the region leads many to trivialise the severity of racist behaviour and reduce it to a form of acceptable football-related “banter”. It is widely acceptable as a form of psychological terror against an opposing team and, more importantly, particular players. The fans doing the monkey chants on Monday were sitting in the main stand. They were most likely not fanatical hooligans but ordinary supporters, for whom this sort of behaviour is regarded as normal.
The fact that the Montenegro manager, Ljubiša Tumbaković, saw no reason to comment on the incidents in the post-match press conference says a lot about how seriously the issue is being taken. The Montenegrin FA issued a tame statement, while Montenegro’s sport and youth minister, Nikola Janović, described the game as a “sports festival” with a “carnival atmosphere”, condemning only “inexplicable messages” by some fans in the stadium. In 2013, the Croatian FA pledged its support to defender Josip Šimunić after he was fined for chanting a fascist slogan “Za dom – spremni” (“For the homeland – ready”). The fish really does rot from the head down.
Can this infuriating incident be the one that finally brings about meaningful change? Most probably not. There is an utter lack of political will from football associations across the region, and in politics more broadly, to systematically tackle the epidemic of football-related violence, hooliganism and discrimination. Regardless of punishments, little seems to change the region’s football culture.
Uefa’s disciplinary committee is expected to fine the Montenegrin FA and enforce a partial stadium closure. The effectiveness of these mechanisms as a deterrent for racist behaviour, however, can be questioned.
Many are calling for tougher penalties, some even for expulsion from next year’s European championship – something that would actually hurt countries and make them rethink their approaches towards discrimination. The regulations are there – although they could be stricter – the problem is that it’s not complemented by will and action at national level by FAs and clubs that are largely complicit. The Balkans obviously do not have a monopoly on racism, in football or more widely. The rise of rightwing politics, xenophobia and discrimination in Europe on and off the pitch is well documented.
The England manager, Gareth Southgate, succinctly said after the game that fines on their own would not change anything unless accompanied by educational programmes. It’s not one or the other, it’s both. Clubs such as Borussia Dortmund have demonstrated how change can be instigated when clubs work with fans and lead by example. There is a need for a combination of strong regulation and educational programmes paired with grassroots support. International football governing bodies need to realise that without the empowerment of grassroots initiatives and football NGOs that tackle discrimination and racism in the region’s football, little change will happen.
The UK has Kick It Out and in Europe Fare (Football Against Racism in Europe) – these are products of a long struggle against racism in football. Such organisations are hard to find in the Balkans. Now is the time to force FAs in the region to change their approach and to significantly invest in anti-discrimination programmes that go way further than shallow ad campaigns. The current outrage, with the accompanying media spotlight, the involvement of players, pundits and officials – all should be seized on and used to push football governing bodies to act, not just in the Balkans but beyond. If not, Monday’s “disaster”, as the Uefa president, Aleksander Čeferin, called it, will be repeated again and again.
• Dario Brentin is a researcher at the University of Graz and has been working on the nexus of football, politics and ideology in the Balkans