UN rights chief urges concerted efforts to root racism out of sports

“We are calling on all those organised sport events everywhere in the world to counter and combat and prevent racism,” Volker Turk told reporters in Geneva, as reported by AFP.

He said it was “a stark reminder of the prevalence of racism in sport” and hailed the “very strong reaction from the authorities.”

Turk highlighted the many positive aspects of sports, for instance in building communities but added: “We need to deal with the shadow side as well.”

Real Madrid forward Vinicius, 22, was targeted with shouts of “monkey” from the stands during a match in Valencia on 21 May.

Spanish police have, to date, arrested seven people in connection to the verbal abuse from the stands.

Turk said he had asked his office to prepare a policy brief looking into the issue of racism in sports.

“We need to have a hard look at human rights and sports from a wide range of perspectives.

“It must be made absolutely clear, he said, that “racism is totally unacceptable,” he added.

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