Aleksander Ceferin, the president of UEFA, has suggested on Wednesday that football organizations and clubs should advocate for criminal prosecutions as a means of combating player abuse, including racism.
“Maybe it is time to go with harsher measures. Maybe it is time to put some people in court,” Ceferin said in his keynote speech at the UEFA Congress ahead of his unopposed re-election as president.
Although Ceferin did not name a specific incident, Real Madrid forward Vincius Junior has received repeated abuses at league matches in Spain this year.
These domestic matches, however, fall outside of UEFA’s jurisdiction.
Ceferin, a Slovenian lawyer, further said soccer “is an inclusive sport” which is open to everyone.
“Unfortunately, some people have still not grasped this concept, which is why we´re going to have to rethink our approach,” Ceferin said.
“In cooperation with the federations and the clubs we would need to target offenders more effectively whenever a player is subjected to racist, homophobic or sexist insults during UEFA competitions.”
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UEFA disciplinary rules hold clubs and national federations responsible for racist and offensive conduct by their fans at European competition games.
Sanctions for clubs and federations are typically fines and closing a section of a stadium for future games.
They are then responsible for imposing bans from the stadium for their own fans.
Aleksander Čeferin has been elected unopposed for another four years as President of UEFA ⚽👔 pic.twitter.com/5QQ7uQLKjo
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 5, 2023
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