In 2015, FIFA, together with the Fare network, an organisation with extensive experience in the fight against discrimination in football, introduced its first ever anti-discrimination monitoring system. It’s a system still implemented at FIFA events today. Senior Diversity & Anti-Discrimination Manager Gerd Dembowski is responsible at FIFA for the ongoing partnership with FARE. Currently in Morocco at the FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2022™ overseeing the operation of match observers at each game, what qualifies him for this work?

“My role started 30 years ago in a totally different way. I was an activist, a fan myself” he explained. “I realised the racist tendencies of the club fans that I was surrounded by, and I had to decide: do I search for another hobby, or do I try to make a difference? “So we organised anti-racism fan groups and later, fought against homophobia. Very quickly, I got involved with groups in other countries and became a founding member of the Fare Network, which is now a FIFA partner.” “I started to engage in fan groups that worked with UEFA and FIFA. I became a sociologist and invented new measures of conflict mediation. I worked for Borussia Dortmund, FC Köln, and Hannover 96, and we found a dialogue in specific situations with ultras. Hardcore fans on one side, the club on the other side, and the police in between.

To be selected as an anti-discrimination match observer, each individual must possess expert knowledge regarding the fan culture, language, and behaviour of the specific fan groups involved. Individuals are scouted from across the world, then receive special training. In the event of any discriminatory behaviour, they must produce evidence, including video footage, which in turn must be submitted in a special match report to the secretariat of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee. What happens if there are incidents during a match? “Once a game has kicked off, our anti-discrimination match observers can provide an instant assessment of an incident to our security team. This goes through me (as the human rights and anti-discrimination assessor), and then, our match officials can decide what to do” said Dembowski. “The security measures in place can begin with ejecting people from the stadium, through to match officials stopping the match.” Piara Powar is the Executive Director of the Fare Network. Speaking on the eve of the FIFA Club World Cup Final in Rabat, he underlined how the two organisations work together, and the importance of supporting the regulatory frameworks that FIFA has in place, to try to deal with discrimination inside stadiums.

“If you’re targeting a minority, whether it’s a racial or an ethnic minority, or someone on the basis of their sexual orientation, that can be hugely damaging. The football supporter culture for example in Germany will be different to that in New Zealand, in the US, or in Morocco. Sometimes, there are chants or behaviour that might be acceptable at a national level because people haven’t been educated any differently" said Powar. “Sometimes, it is at the very least intolerant, if not discriminatory. When it comes to international football, you just can’t allow football to be used as a platform for some of those messages." In the build-up to the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup, Dembowski liaised with the local authorities in Morocco, including the Local Organising Committee and the police, to familiarise himself with the stewarding systems, and the different roles and responsibilities. On match day, preparations must ensure that FIFA and the Fare network have a counterpart in order to raise any issues as fans arrive, and then enter the stadium tribunes.

In the build-up to the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup, Dembowski consulted with the local authorities in Morocco, including the Local Organising Committee and the police, to familiarise himself with the stewarding systems, and the distinct roles and responsibilities. On match day, preparations must ensure that FIFA and the Fare network have a counterpart to raise any issues as fans arrive, then enter the stadium tribunes. What may be less known, is that anti-discriminatory messages and banners are positively encouraged. “The display of general statements of human rights and anti-discrimination are in line with FIFA regulations” explained Dembowski. “We are trying to encourage more and more dialogue with fans because a dialogue in advance will solve many issues. In the past, sporting organisations often saw fans as a security risk, but they are also a security partner.”

In recent months, FIFA has employed a new member of the human rights and anti-discrimination team, with a specific mandate. “We are leading a pilot project with the Mexican Football Federation; also, we have just started working with Brazil. Our new colleague oversees the development of a strategy to work with FIFA Member Associations, long before an individual tournament starts. To try and implement preventative measures, which we are working on much more systematically now” added Dembowski. “Our aim is to create a more welcoming, inclusive environment for football fans who come to FIFA matches globally. We at FIFA don’t want to be seen as people who are just controlling fans. The idea is to open windows or even big doors, and that has already started.”

The final word went to Fare’s Executive Director. “We want to help create a football culture that is very inclusive, one where everybody feels that they belong. We don’t want young people in New Zealand and Australia for example saying they won’t go to the Women’s World Cup, because they will see things they don’t want to see. Or, indeed, their parents saying that. “This is not about a cleaning-up of football. We want to respect the diverse cultures that go into making the whole culture. It’s about underlining the power of football bringing people together.”