Cyprus / Equality Body / Self-initiated intervention of the Anti-discrimination Authority regarding the racial incident against footballer and the combating of racism in sports / Ref. ΑΚR/ΑΥΤ. 4/2014

Country

Cyprus

Title

Cyprus / Equality Body / Self-initiated intervention of the Anti-discrimination Authority regarding the racial incident against footballer and the combating of racism in sports / Ref. ΑΚR/ΑΥΤ. 4/2014

View full Case

Year

2014

Decision/ruling/judgment date

Friday, December 19, 2014

Incident(s) concerned/related

Harassment

Related Bias motivation

Race/Ethnicity

Groups affected

Migrants

Court/Body type

National Human Rights Body

Court/Body

Equality Body

Key facts of the case

The Equality Body condemned the inadequate response of the authorities to repeated incidents of racial abuse by club fans against a black African football player during two consecutive matches. No arrests or prosecutions were made and the authorities had failed to take measures against the perpetrators. Instead, the only person punished was the victim himself, who had been given a yellow card by the referee as a warning prior to suspension from the game for having verbally shown his discontent over the racist insults.

Main reasoning/argumentation

The Equality Body stressed that the impunity created by the authorities’ inaction following the first incident led to further racial harassment of the victim two weeks later. It added that the spreading and reinforcing of racist tendencies or behaviours may not only create a hostile climate against groups with common collective identities but may also lead to serious forms of discrimination against them and to extreme forms of violence. For this reason, the state has an increased duty to act in order to prevent manifestations of racism and protect its potential victims.

Is the case related to the application of the Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia, the Racial Equality Directive?

Key issues (concepts, interpretations) clarified by the case

The decision stated that an attack against a member of a group is also an attack against the group with whom the victim shares common characteristics, spreading to the group the same feelings of humiliation and fear experienced by the victim. Given that violence is endemic in all forms of racism, the spreading of racist tendencies may result in the creation of a hostile climate against groups with common collective identities, potentially leading to severe discrimination and extreme forms of violence. The failure of the authorities to take action against racial incidents leads to a failure to restore the damage to the victims’ dignity, whilst at the same time it provides fertile ground for the reproduction, accentuation and perpetuation of such conduct.

Results (sanctions, outcome) and key consequences or implications of the case

The racial incidents did not trigger a police investigation nor did they lead to any condemning statements from sports officials or football actors. The Equality Body submitted its report to the police with instructions to investigate possible criminal offences under the law transposing the Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia as well as under national legislation for the prevention of violence in sports. No prosecutions took place in relation to these incidents.

Key quotation in original language and its unofficial translation into English with reference details

"Οι συζητήσεις και απόψεις που εκφράστηκαν σε σχέση με το περιστατικό κινήθηκαν σε σταθμίσεις ως προς τις συνθήκες και τη σοβαρότητά του, την αναγκαιότητα ενασχόλησης με αυτό, τη συμπεριφορά του ίδιου του ποδοσφαιριστή ή και με τις ενδεχόμενες συνέπειες του περιστατικού. Προτού, όμως, αξιολογηθούν οι πιο πάνω παράγοντες που εγκλωβίζουν το χειρισμό του περιστατικού σε ψευτοδιλήμματα του τύπου «αν και πόσο ρατσιστικό είναι το περιστατικό» είναι σημαντικό να γίνει αντιληπτό ότι το κύριο διακύβευμα σε τέτοιες περιπτώσεις είναι ο σεβασμός της ανθρώπινης αξίας που είναι θεμελιώδης και αδιαπραγμάτευτος. "

"The debates and views expressed in relation to the incident concerned the circumstances and gravity and the need to deal with the behavior of the player himself or even the possible consequences of the incident. However, before assessing the above factors that entrap the handling of the incident in pseudo-dilemmas such as "whether and how much racist the incident was", it is important to understand that the main stakes in such cases are respect for human value, which is fundamental and non-negotiable. "

DISCLAIMERThe information presented here is collected under contract by the FRA's research network FRANET. The information and views contained do not necessarily reflect the views or the official position of the FRA.