The International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is supposed to eradicate racial discrimination; however, it does not include sport as a location and scenario where racism is experienced. Sport is widely missing from the discussions and debates surrounding the perpetuation of racism in society. The aim of the dissertation was to present research and an analysis as to the extent to which international human rights law addressed racism in sport and present a series of recommendations as to how it can do better.

The problem of racism within sport goes beyond the chants heard at matches that include racial stereotypes and profiling. Racism presents itself as the disapproval when players take the knee before the start of a game, with the profiling of players of various race heavily focused in certain positions or not considered to have the characteristics to play at all and with the lack of awareness surrounding what racism is. Many supporters sing chants that they do not know contains a racial profile or racial stereotype. The problem of racism in sport goes beyond the chants, it is ingrained in team selection from youth and academies all the way to first team professional teams.

The International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (the Race Convention) identifies several scenarios and locations in which racism should be eliminated – sport is not included. The Race Convention does not mention sport at all and only the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities mention sport as a location in which discrimination occurs. Furthermore, only two General Assembly Resolutions attempt to address the existence of racism in sport. International human rights law is severely lacking in its approach to eliminating racism in sport. As a solution, I presented a draft resolution that focused solely on racism in sport and how States could attempt to eradicate the problem.

Sport, and the existence of racism within sport, is a human right as sport has been acknowledged in international conventions, charters, commission reports, Universal Periodic Reviews and more. Sport is important socially, culturally, for health and is a microcosm of society. The values in sport are a reflection of those in the wider society. This dissertation aimed to break down the hesitation by sporting clubs, sporting boards and associations and fans to admit that racism exists within sport, that the chants and stigma surrounding abilities is present in clubs.

Racism in sport is a worldwide problem and will require a united approach for the problem to be eradicated. The United Nations and international human rights law can help eradicate racism in sport if people and institutions begin to recognise and accept that racism is prevalent.

Related Blogs

• 

  Reforming Corporate Insolvency Law for the 21st Century: Shaping the Future of Insolvency

• 

  Adverse Influence, Mental Ill Health, Risk, and Criminalisation: Does mental ill health increase the incidence of criminalisation of care-experienced children in England?

• 

  Rewriting the Rules, The Green Exchange; Evolving Environmental Policy and Legal Practice in English Law through Ecosystem Services Schemes

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed by our bloggers and those providing comments are personal, and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of Lancaster University. Responsibility for the accuracy of any of the information contained within blog posts belongs to the blogger.