Footballer Fikayo Tomori spoke out following the FA cup tie between Haringey Borough and Yeovil on account of allegations of racist abuse. The game ended when the Haringey team decided to walk off the field after 64 minutes of enduring unacceptable racial comments and actions displayed by opposing team players and Bulgarian fans. Fikayo, a defensemen for the Premier League Club Chelsea, insists something must be done in order to eliminate racism from the game of football.
In a recent interview, Fikayo stated that he understands that eliminating racism from sport is a gradual process and we have to keep working together on solving it. He further mentioned that when you hear racial comments during a game, you have to be able to silence it out despite the level of harshness.
Racism in sport continues to be a major issue and not just in professional leagues around the world, but in all other recreational leagues and clubs for all ages as well. We have seen the effects it has had on athletes during the game, but, in most cases, the effects it has on the athletes outside of sports goes unnoticed.
In dealing with racism in sport, there needs to be a focus on viewing racial prejudices in sport on a broader spectrum involving all populations and not just blatant events involving racial minorities. The incident that occurred during Euro 2020 qualification games proves that racism is still an issue that exists in society today and has a high chance of being present in competitive sport, not only from opposing teams but also by spectators.
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