According to every fifth professional footballer, prejudices and stereotypes based on skin color and ethnic background are considered a taboo topic at their clubs, the Dutch news portal Dutchnews wrote on Thursday, citing data from the Mulier sports research institute.
The organization contacted more than a thousand professional footballers in the Netherlands, but only 118 of them answered the questions.
According to the survey, the majority of respondents believe that racism is not talked about enough in sports clubs.
They also indicated that there is a need for more colored coaches and managers in the world of football, and almost half of the respondents believe that discrimination is very common. A quarter of respondents mentioned that teammates made jokes or made negative comments about their skin color, ethnicity or religion. All players believe that stricter measures should be taken against racism, including against fans.
The spokesperson of the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) said in connection with the survey that 20 anti-discrimination measures had been introduced in the last 18 months. The KNVN has also developed an anti-racism strategy following an incident in 2019 in which the referee suspended the match after Excelsior forward Ahmad Mendes Moreira claimed he was taunted by Den Bosch fans after a goal. It was the first time that a professional match in the Netherlands was interrupted due to racism.
MTI
Photo: EPA/Olaf Kraak/Pool
