Racism in football: FA resists calls for automatic 10-game ban

The Football Association will for now resist increasing the automatic suspension for players found guilty of racism to 10 games.

Pressure has increased on English football’s governing body to fall in line with the sanctions recently introduced by Fifa, who doubled their previous five-match ban when they announced a stricter disciplinary code earlier this month.

Uefa, European football’s governing body, has had a 10-game automatic ban in place since 2013.

Despite criticsim that they are not tackling the issue, which blighted domestic and international football last season, the FA are confident that their approach of an automatic six-match ban – only increased from five games in May – with the option of an indefinite increase for more serious or second offences, at the descretion of an independent panel, provides a greater deterrent.

They also have a far lower threshold than Fifa and Uefa for charging players who have been accused of racism.

Review continues

The case of Sophie Jones, the former Sheffield United forward, was referred to an independent panel who banned her for five games after finding her guilty of making monkey noises towards Tottenham Hotspur’s Renee Hector. Jones continued to deny the allegations after the verdict and said she would quit football.

The FA will continue to review their disciplinary sanctions with the game’s stakeholders.

“The FA takes all forms of discrimination extremely seriously,” an FA spokesman said. “In May 2019, we increased our minimum suspension for proven cases of discrimination from five to six matches. Importantly, the sanction can be increased further, depending on the details of the case and findings of the Independent Regulatory Commission.

“The sanction for discrimination is set following discussions with key stakeholders across the game, including the Leagues, the PFA, the LMA and PGMOL. It is also reviewed by the Football Regulatory Authority which comprises eight stakeholder representatives and four independent members, before being finally approved by FA Council.”

FIFA said this month: “Topics like racism and discrimination have been updated, putting FIFA at the forefront of the fight against this appalling attack on the fundamental human rights of individuals.”