‘As football players, we have a very strong voice’ Taison and Fred share anti-racism message
Saturday, November 16, 2024
Article summary
To mark the United Nations International Day of Tolerance on 16 November, we shine a light on the continuing impact of racism in football – and our sport’s unique power to help tackle it – through the words of PAOK's Taison and Fenerbahçe’s Fred, both of whom have been victims of racist abuse on the pitch.
Article top media content
Article body
“It was one of the hardest moments in my life.”
It was in 2019, while playing for Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine, that Brazilian midfielder Taison was sent off after reacting to racist abuse during a match against Dynamo Kyiv. In the aftermath, Taison stood firm: “My job is to fight, to be proud, hold my head high. In a racist society, not being racist isn’t enough – we must be anti-racist.”
Fast forward to the present and Taison – now playing for Greek side PAOK – continues to make a stand on the football pitch, marking his goals by raising his fist in a celebration inspired by Tommie Smith and John Carlos’s famous Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.
“I believe we can’t remain silent when faced with something this big,” he says. “I raise my fist to show responsibility and strength, being someone who fights for my ideals. Many kids send me pictures on social media doing the same thing. I'm very happy that it has such an impact.”
UEFA’s commitment to fighting racism
We seek to leverage the reach of our competitions and the love of football to advocate respect, inclusivity and universal access to sport as fundamental values. Since 2023 our FootbALL programme has been at the heart of those efforts, highlighting the power of football to drive positive social change.
Our Football Sustainability Strategy 2030 also includes seven dedicated social sustainability policies, with one focusing specifically on the fight against racism and discrimination in European football. The work within this policy aims to prevent and fight all forms of racial discrimination in football, from grassroots to the elite professional level.
As a proactive measure in our prevention efforts, UEFA has created the OUTRAGED educational toolkit to foster dialogue and engagement among individuals and groups, highlighting how everyone can contribute to preventing and addressing racism and other forms of discrimination.
Championing progress and inclusivity
Taison has never experienced racism in his native Brazil, but knows that his family and friends have. He hopes his defiant message, amplified by his platform as a footballer, will help others at home and across the world meet racism with the same determination.
“As football players we have a very strong voice,” he says. “I’ll always fight for equality, not only for me, but for young people, for their families. My parents always taught me to face my problems with my head held high. No matter your skin colour, we are all equal.”
‘Football is very powerful’
Taison’s fellow Brazilian Fred, who played alongside him at Shakhtar, also knows what it’s like to feel the sting of racism, having experienced racist abuse while playing at Manchester United.
“It’s terrible that it still happens in 2024, but what we can’t do is think we are always a victim,” says Fred, who now plays for Turkish side Fenerbahçe.
“We must unite, regardless of colour, race, religion. We’re all the same, we’re all human beings.”
Football, Fred believes, has a crucial role to play. “Football is very powerful. Everybody loves football, it reaches the whole world,” he said. “Let’s keep fighting to eradicate racism: players sending this message reaches a lot of people.”
Those efforts are delivering progress, too. “Some people are a bit backward and keep racism alive, but I believe that, together, as people, we’re going in the right direction,” says Fred. “I believe that in the near future, we won’t hear about racism anymore – but until that happens, we must keep fighting, stand together and be strong.”