THE BEAUTIFUL GAME...

Soccer slide-tackles racism: FIFA to send out antiracism ambassadors, including Pelé. (Bill Faries, 5/12/05, The Christian Science Monitor)

Fans wave swastikas, coaches denigrate black players, and teams are forced to play before empty stadiums because of unruly crowds.

A year before soccer's World Cup is due to kick off in Germany, concerns are growing that Pelé's "beautiful game" is being marred by racism. As a result, soccer authorities, athletes, and sponsors in South America, Europe, and Asia are looking for ways to improve crowd and player behavior before the sport's reputation is permanently damaged.

Soccer officials have long kept their eye on the sport's worst "hooligans" - disruptive fans who often drink heavily and try to incite violence before, during, and after matches. During the 2002 World Cup, the host nations, Korea and Japan, sent dozens of known troublemakers back to their home countries. Now officials are focusing on acts of racism.

Here in South America, the issue received renewed attention last month when Leandro Desabato, an Argentine defender with the Quilmes club team, was detained by Brazilian police after making derogatory remarks toward the player known as Grafite, a black Brazilian player.

Less than a week later, fans watching a club match in the city of Cordoba, Argentina, were seen waving flags with swastikas on them. Argentina has a large Jewish population.

But according to antiracism activists, recent events go beyond a handful of unruly and intoxicated fans.

"Hooligans and racism have traditionally always been linked," says Leon Mann of Kick It Out, a British organization dedicated to eliminating racism in soccer. "But it would be naive to assume that this is a problem caused exclusively by skinhead hooligans. [These days], racist chants can be heard by a range of different supporters - young, old, rich and poor."

If it weren't for hooliganism there'd be even less reason to watch.

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 11, 2005 11:34 PM