2022 World Cup marred by racist comments and hate speech

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ISTANBUL

Despite the principle of zero tolerance against all forms of discrimination during the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar, a lot of hate speech was used both on and off the pitch and on the social networks.

According to a report by the US-based Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) published on November 21, messages began to appear on social networks targeting black players before the start of the 2022 World Cup, and the platforms of social networks have done nothing to limit or prevent the abuse.

The report said no action was taken on 99 of 100 racist tweets targeting 43 football players, including Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka of the England national football team. A single post was deleted because it was repeated 16 times.

The phrase “Negro” (Black) was used to describe football players in 11 of the posts and a monkey or banana emoji was used for the players in 25 of them, according to the report, while 13 players have been expelled. , 25 of them were asked to “go to other countries” and in 13 tweets, players were targeted based on their language skills.

Imran Ahmed, the founder and CEO of CCDH, said in a statement Dec. 11 that black players participating in the organization were also targeted for racist abuse on Instagram and that such posts were not removed by the platform.

French players of African origin exposed to racist remarks on social networks

The players of the France team, which finished second in the tournament after losing to Argentina on penalties in the final, have also been the target of racist comments.

Besides Kylian Mbappe, who was named the tournament’s top scorer, expressions containing hate speech were used against French players of African descent such as Kingsley Coman, Aurelien Tchouameni and Randal Kolo Muani.

In a statement, French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castera expressed her “full support” for Kingsley Coman and all players who are victims of racist comments on social media, which have no place in football or football. elsewhere.

Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal Opportunities Minister Isabelle Rome has said the racism domestic footballers are exposed to is “unacceptable”.

Racist comments on Messi’s traditional dress by Emir of Qatar

Racist expressions were used on social media after Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani dressed Lionel Messi in the traditional ‘bisht’ used by men from Gulf countries on special occasions during the ceremony. presentation of trophies in Argentina. Arab social media users pointed out that Sheikh Tamim offered the gift to honor and show respect to the athlete.

Darren Watkins, a popular American YouTuber, streamer and internet personality best known by his online handle “iShowSpeed”, asked “Why are you wearing the Argentina shirt?” to an Asian fan who was passing by. After that, he shouted “Konnichiwa!” which means “Hello” in Japanese, to the fan, who said he was not Japanese but Chinese, sparking controversy on social networks.

Criticisms included “Stop spouting macro-nationalism and racism against Asians and use the platform for positive things” and “You’ve let Asians down. Everyone makes mistakes. Now grow up and do better.” best things.”

Watkins deleted the video from his account and issued an apology.

Racist Group Targets Moroccan Football Fans

Moroccan fans have faced verbal and physical attacks from some far-right groups in the French city of Montpellier after Morocco’s World Cup results.

A 14-year-old Moroccan boy was killed after a car driver knocked him down.

According to eyewitnesses, there were two people in the vehicle, and the perpetrators made fun of Moroccan fans and visited the street in Barcelona on several occasions.

In Italy, a group of people dressed in black and wearing face masks attacked celebrating fans in the city of Verona with sticks and chains after a game against Morocco on December 6.

A total of 13 people belonging to far-right groups were arrested.

Italy’s far-right Transport Minister Matteo Salvini has slammed Moroccan fans celebrating their national team’s penalty shoot-out victory over Spain.

“Morocco knock out Spain so they ‘celebrate’ in Milan…Hope those responsible will be identified and pay all the damages,” Salvini tweeted.

Racist propaganda in Croatian locker rooms

The Croatian national team sang songs by the group Thompson, known for its neo-Nazi sympathies, in the locker room ahead of their game against Argentina on December 13.

FIFA also fined the Croatian Football Federation $53,000 for the behavior of Croatian fans. Serbian-Canadian goalkeeper Milan Borjan faced racist taunts during a game against Croatia on November 27.

Iran national team manager Carlos Queiroz dodged a question from a reporter about the ongoing protests in the country, saying he only wanted to talk about the game.

At a press conference on Thursday ahead of Iran’s game against Wales, Queiroz told a BBC reporter: “Why don’t you ask (England coach Gareth) Southgate such questions? ?”

“That’s the only question I ask. Why don’t you ask the other coaches? Why don’t you ask Southgate ‘What do you think of England and the United States leaving Afghanistan and all single women’?” he added.

FIFA has fined the Serbian Football Federation $21,300 after a flag showing Kosovo as part of their country was hung in the locker room.

Qatar also faced racist abuse after winning the right to host the FIFA World Cup.

Western media, which said Qatar should not host the World Cup due to alleged human rights abuses, targeted the country with hateful language.

*Written by Selcuk Bugra Gokalp and Emre Asikci

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