NEWS FROM CLAUDE MORAES MEP

10 March 2006

"Switch off the colour to combat racism" demand MEPs

Press conference:
17:00 Tuesday 14 March 2006, European Parliament, Strasbourg

Demands for football to be broadcast without sound or colour when a racist incident occurs during a match will be made by MEPs next week in advance of the World Cup in the largest ever declaration by the European Parliament.

MEPs will team up with UEFA at a press conference on Tuesday 14 March in Strasbourg to put pressure on national football authorities to take urgent action on football racism before the World Cup gets underway.

The written declaration on racism in football has been signed by 423 MEPs - the highest number of signatories to a written declaration in the European Parliament since the declaration procedure began in 1979.

MEPs are calling on UEFA to:

• use their powers to impose heavy fines on football clubs for racist incidents, both on and off the pitch.
• give referees power to blow the final whistle and abandon the match as soon as a substantial racist incidents occurs.
• put pressure on TV companies to switch off the sound or change the broadcast to black and white when a substantial racist incident occurs to send a clear message that racism will not be tolerated.

Labour MEP Claude Moraes authored the declaration and has led the petition to ensure that football authorities cannot continue to turn a blind eye to football racism as the biggest football tournament in the world comes to Europe.

He said: "In partnership with UEFA I am calling for tougher sanctions against clubs and national football associations who do not fine or take action against racist fans and players.

"Currently UEFA is taking action across its 52 European members - but it is not enough. Exemplary fines, exclusion of fans from stadiums, the stopping of matches by referees and in some cases, termination of media coverage, are all powers which must be used more frequently along with the positive measures to educate fans used in some model clubs.

"This declaration states unequivocally that the European Parliament takes this issue seriously and wants to see action from UEFA and national football associations now."

On the demand to switch off colour or sound from TV football coverage Claude said:

 "The media is a powerful player in tackling this issue. They have the power to use imaginative devices such as switching off the sound, switching to black and white coverage, or interrupting matches with written messages on the screen explaining why coverage has been altered or stopped. We understand that some media professionals would be willing to experiment with such action and we would encourage the media to use the considerable power they have to decide what may be appropriate for the particular country concerned. "

"This is an issue of symbolic and practical importance.

"Symbolic because incidents of racism on the pitch such as the recent England v Spain international are broadcast all over the world. And practical because racism, which is an everyday fact of life for millions of Europeans, is being played out as black players are abused by spectators from organised neo-nazis and ordinary football supporters.

"As the World Cup approaches we know that tackling this issue is one way of tackling racism in wider society and highlighting the excellent work of football clubs like Charlton in the UK who have taken courageous steps to kick racism out of Europe's biggest sporting and cultural activity."/ENDS

Claude Moraes is Labour MEP for London and President of The Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup.

The press conference will take place at 5pm on Tuesday 14 March in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Press enquiries - Contact the office of Claude Moraes MEP 0044 207 609 5005