E/CN.4/2005/18 page 13 broadcast by a Middle East television company. Following that incident, his contract with The Guardian newspaper was also terminated. However, in other cases, no action is taken about language that is equally offensive. Patrick Vieira, captain of the France football team, condemned the lack of any reaction to the remarks made by Luis Aragones, trainer of the Spain team, who labelled the French player Thierry Henry “a bloody black”. 33. It is both necessary and urgent for politicians and national and international sports organizations to take a firm stand on such incidents. Although some positive and fruitful initiatives have been taken by sports federations or other organizations, they remain too circumscribed. Some of them were mentioned by the Special Rapporteur in his report to the General Assembly, including those taken by FIFA, the Football Against Racism in Europe organization, and the Union of European Football Associations (see A/59/329, paras. 33-35). For example, after the above-mentioned incidents of October and November 2004, the President of FIFA defined the recent increase in racist acts in football as “sickening and unacceptable”. He added that racism and discrimination have no place in that sport and that, on the contrary, football has a positive influence which ought to be used to combat this scourge. However, it is vital that FIFA does not confine itself to making such statements, but also makes a more determined, comprehensive and open commitment to combating racism through wide-ranging national and international awareness campaigns and the imposition of exemplary punishments on the persons responsible for these incidents. 34. The Special Rapporteur is particularly concerned about the way that some of the media have trivialized such incidents. He noted with concern the initial reaction of the Spanish press to the incidents that took place during the England-Spain friendly, criticizing the English press for focusing on their gravity instead of analysing them at a deeper level by identifying the culprits. 35. In this context of mobilization of international sports bodies, the Special Rapporteur had a meeting, on 20 October 2004, in Lausanne, Switzerland, with Mr. Jacques Rogge, President of the IOC, to brief him on the work that the Special Rapporteur does to combat racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia in sport and to learn about the initiatives taken by the IOC in that domain. Mr. Rogge said that the IOC remained faithful to the Olympic Charter, which encourages fraternal relations among people and sporting events, without any form of discrimination, and that he had never witnessed any manifestation of racial discrimination in the course of his activities. The Special Rapporteur took note with satisfaction of the measures taken by the IOC to ensure geographical balance in its activities, including by providing appropriate assistance to countries and national committees. Welcoming this initial contact, which has paved the way for cooperation with the Olympic organization on the exchanging of information, the Special Rapporteur told Mr. Rogge that he would pass on to him any allegation which the Special Rapporteur received about racial discrimination or xenophobia during sporting events sponsored by the IOC or an affiliated national body. 36. On 6 December 2004, the Special Rapporteur also had a meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, with Mr. Blatter, President of FIFA, who expressed deep concern about the recent racist incidents in football and outlined the actions that FIFA is taking to combat racism in football. For example, FIFA launched an inquiry into the racist incidents that occurred during the friendly match between England and Spain. For several years, FIFA has also sponsored social development and anti-discrimination programmes, including in cooperation with the