A/58/313 B. Racism and sports 26. The Special Rapporteur has found a recent increase in racist and xenophobic acts and remarks at sporting events. These incidents have been most common at European football stadiums, where players of African origin have been greeted by spectators making monkey calls, throwing banana skins or shouting purposely racist insults. There have even been racist incidents on the field between players. In Eastern Europe, anti-Semitism has been seen among supporters calling one another “Jews” and waving neo-Nazi and neo-Fascist banners in the stands. Far-right organizations have found their way into stadiums and handed out their racist propaganda, or taken advantage of media coverage of football matches to call attention to themselves by unfurling their banners in the range of the cameras. More and more racist graffiti has appeared in football stadiums. 27. Racism has also invaded the tennis court: Venus and Serena Williams, and their father Richard, have often complained about what they see as racially motivated boos and cat-calls from spectators at tournaments in Australia, the United States of America and France. Some spectators have reportedly called them “nigger”. Interviews with some of the Williams sisters’ opponents and comments from some journalists which have stressed their physical strength and given no credit to the quality of their game have also been perceived as inspired by racial prejudice. A recent article in the British daily The Guardian recognized racist feeling and behaviour in the world of tennis, quoting the example of the Williams sisters. 28. There is an emerging public awareness of the danger of racism in sports in some countries. In the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, for example, the Commission for Racial Equality and the English Football Association launched the “Kick it Out” campaign against racism (www.kickitout.org) in 1993. In other countries (such as Poland, Germany and Italy), spectators who are seen committing racist acts are thrown out of stadiums, and football clubs have been fined for the racist behaviour of their fans. Major football stars such as Lilian Thuram have personally campaigned against this new distortion of fair play. 29. The Special Rapporteur has written to the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and to the International Olympic Committee about growing racism on the football field and in other sports. FIFA informed him that its action against racism had included a congress held in Buenos Aires on 6 July 2001. The congress had issued a resolution requiring “all persons involved directly or indirectly with the sport of football at all levels and in all countries to join a concerted action to exchange information and experiences in order to combat effectively and conclusively all manifestations of racism within the game, by denouncing and sanctioning all persons indulging in racism in any form”. 30. Beyond the action taken by FIFA, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) launched an anti-racism guide on 18 July 2003 as part of its campaign against racism, to help the football community to confront that phenomenon. The guide, which was prepared by UEFA and FARE (Football Against Racism in Europe), was distributed to all national federations, leagues, clubs, referees, match delegates and stadium managers. UEFA allocated 1.7 million euros for national campaigns against racism. FARE has also organized an annual antiracist world cup in Montecchio in Italy. It is both a sporting and a cultural event 13