On Tuesday, a BBC Panorama documentary highlighted racism and antisemitism on the football terraces of both Poland and Ukraine, the two host countries of the Euro 2012 tournament.
John Mann MP, as chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism, visited Poland, Ukraine and the UEFA headquarters months ago to raise his concerns. Having identified specifically some of the teams and matches covered in the programme John Mann is renewing his call for action.
He said: “UEFA’s approach has been lacklustre, they are hiding away, eternally passing the buck to other organisations and institutions who pass it on again.”
Mann continued: “We have been highlighting in private, in explicit detail for over a year, our concerns about antisemitism and racism in Polish and Ukranian football and I am disappointed that the FA, The Football Minister Hugh Robertson and UEFA have failed to act on our recommendations which have been sitting on their tables for at least 6 months”.
Mann has renewed his call for the FA to establish an anti-racist team to be taken to Poland and Ukraine to engage with local communities and respond on a positive agenda to any problems that arise as part of a wider anti-racism strategy.
