Soccer. The beautiful game. It is the most ubiquitous sport on the face of the planet. The sport has acted as a uniting and overall positive force for multiple societies, helping create cohesion and to combat evils. However, certain undesirable ideologies have infiltrated the sport, diminishing the impact of cohesion; racism, xenophobia, antisemitism, and so on. As much as many fans would love to deny that it isn’t part of the game, it still exists, and it hasn’t subsided.

There are many incidences of racism in the game. There were times where all-time great Roberto Carlos, while playing in Russia for Anzhi Makhachkala, was racially abused by fans, with bananas thrown at him or shown to him by supporters of rival clubs. Other incidences include the monkey chants directed at players while in Russia, including Yaya Touré, Olympique de Marseille’s black players, and others. In Italy, monkey chants have been directed at multiple black players, such as Nigel de Jong and Kevin Constant of AC Milan, Samuel Eto’o, and others. Even one of Italy’s best players, Ghanian-Italian Mario Balotelli, was often subject to racist abuse in Italy and beyond; half of all abusive posts directed at him were racist in nature.

This isn’t just endemic to fans; oftentimes, players, such as John Terry of Chelsea and Turkish players have racially attacked black players. One, in particular, Emre, famously called Didier Zokora the n-word, which led to just a two-game ban (but the punishment afterward was far more brutal on the pitch). Coach Luis Aragones referred to striker Thierry Henry as “black s***.” This incident caused an uproar, with English internationals being subject to taunts as well. Racism in the game is has been intertwined with it for decades.

Along with racism, xenophobia has become part and parcel of the game at times. In Scotland, Celtic and Rangers supporters have been subject to abuse as a result of their respective Catholicism and Protestantism. Italian midfielder Daniele de Rossi, while playing against Juventus, called Croatian player Mario Mandzukic a “f***ing gypsy” on the field of play. Beitar Jerusalem’s La Familia has been vital in preventing Arabic players from playing for the club and even set club offices on fire when the club signed two Chechnyan Muslims.

And of course, we cannot forget antisemitism. This has been confined mainly to Eastern Europe and the Netherlands, but shocking incidences nonetheless. Ajax Amsterdam fans, known as a “Jewish club” served as the target of chants including “Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas!” and “The Jews are going to the slaughter!” by fans of opposition clubs. In countries such as Poland, effigies of Jewish individuals have been burned by opposition fans of the club LKZ Lodz to target it. Though there are “smaller” events, antisemitism remains a problem in the sport.

In short, the beautiful game isn’t perfect. Racism and other repugnant ideas still blight the game, much to the detriment of the sport itself. Nonetheless, it is my hope and dream that in time, these facets will disappear, and players can play the game without the threat of racial abuse.