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Racism in a new guise


In 2005 it was Ivory Coast's Marc Zoro of Messina, in spring 2006 Cameroon's Samuel Eto' o of Barcelona, who interrupted a match due to racist chanting. In Spain, Italy and parts of eastern Europe, in particular, racism is becoming more open and making news more often throughout Europe.

Finally, in Mach 2006, a player in Germany also responded in an unusual way to racist abuse. Adebowale Ogungbure held two fingers to his upper lip and made a Nazi salute after the fourth division game between Halle and Sachsen Leipzig. He was then assaulted by fans. Initially the police placed Ogungbure under investigation for making anti-constitutional gestures.

This time, however, the case generated wide media coverage and the German Football Association launched an enquiry, something that did not happen in response to previous acts of racist hostility by German fans at international matches in Slovenia, Slovakia, France and Italy in 2005 and 2006, the anti-Semitic banner displayed by Cottbus fans in a match against Dynamo Dresden in December 2005, or the formation of a human swastika by Lokomotive Leipzig fans at a game against Sachsen Leipzig.

Whilst racism is more common in the lower German leagues, in the first and second divisions it is generally more hidden. Instead of unambiguous symbols there are combinations of numbers, modified runic symbols and certain brands of clothing that can be combined with other outfit features. At the third division match between St Pauli and Chemnitz in April 2006 some Chemnitz fans held up red banners with empty white circles - the allusion to far-right symbols sufficed.

Neo-Nazis and their sympathisers are adopting modern methods and becoming more mobile. For the period of the World Cup in 2006 the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) organised demonstrations in solidarity with Iran and started a campaign against Germany players with a different skin colour and ethnic origin. There are also certain music scenes that, whilst not always being infiltrated by far-right ideas, can act as a source of far-right ideas, even hip-hop.

It is more difficult, however, to counter those individuals at football grounds who would not call themselves racist, but nonetheless exhibit prejudice against migrants and hostility against foreigners. And there are not necessarily just a few of them.