European football’s governing body on Wednesday outlined tough new sanctions against racism both on and off the pitch, as part of efforts to rid the game of the scourge of discrimination and abuse.
UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino warned that players found guilty of racial abuse would face a minimum 10-match ban while clubs could expect to play behind closed doors in the event of proven racism by fans.
Infantino’s proposals came as UEFA ordered Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kiev to play their next two European games behind closed doors because of “incidents of racist behaviour” by their fans in recent matches.
The Scottish Football Association (SFA) meanwhile charged Rangers chief executive Charles Green for bringing the game into disrepute for comments an anti-racism body deemed “racist and offensive”.
In a further indication of the scale of the problem, police said they were studying claims that Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany was racially abused as he gave a television interview after his side’s win against Manchester United.
“We have to have sanctions and they must have a deterrent effect and what we are proposing is if a player or official is convicted of racism, they should receive a 10-match suspension at least,” Infantino told the Soccerex forum in Manchester, northwest England.
