Racist Discourse in Football
A Critical Discourse Analysis of Media Representation of Fan Chants
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31973/1pzje614Keywords:
Discourse Analysis, Fan Commentary, Football, Media Representation, RacismAbstract
This research research explores the pervasive issue of racism in football and its broader societal implications. The research tackles key problems such as the widespread presence of racism in football, the media's role in fostering racist behavior, and the impact of consumer culture on fan actions. The research is guided by three main hypotheses: (1) Racism in Italian football reflects larger societal issues; (2) The media's depiction of racial interactions heightens racist attitudes among fans; and (3) The consumer culture in football promotes discriminatory behavior by commodifying players and diminishing fans' sense of citizenship. To investigate these issues, the research uses a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach, as articulated by Fairclough (2013) and Fowler (2013), focusing on a specific instance of racist chanting. This analysis uncovers the links between social phenomena, media influence, and consumer culture that foster racism as a form of intolerance. The findings highlight how entrenched stereotypes, when given a platform, can incite fans to engage in racist chanting, even in environments that outwardly support tolerance and anti-discrimination. This incident acts as a reflection of broader societal trends, underscoring the importance of examining the media, consumer culture, and underlying structures that sustain racism. This research shifts the view of racism from random acts of prejudice to a systemic issue tied to power structures. It shows how the commercialization of football, coupled with the media's portrayal of racial interactions, reinforces narratives that consider certain groups inferior and worthy of humiliation. Moreover, the research emphasizes the role of fans within consumer culture, illustrating how being treated as consumers rather than citizens creates an idealized but prejudiced understanding of the game and its players. This idealization, combined with existing biases, ensures that discrimination remains ever-present.
Downloads
References
Back, L., Crabbe, T., & Solomos, J. (1998). Racism in football: patterns of continuity and change. Fanatics, 71-87.
Bulmer, M., & Solomos, J. (1998). Introduction: Re-thinking ethnic and racial studies. Ethnic and racial studies, 21(5), 819-837.
Carrington, B. (1999). Sport, Race, and Ethnicity: Narratives of Difference and Diversity. Westview Press.
Eriksen, T. H. (2002). Ethnicity and nationalism: Anthropological perspectives. Pluto press.
Essed, P., Farquharson, K., Pillay, K., & White, E. J. (2019). Racism and the dehumanization of the imagined black. In P. Essed, K. Farquharson, K. Pillay, & E. J. White (Eds.), Relating worlds of racism: Dehumanisation, belonging, and the normativity of European whiteness (pp. xi–xv). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78990-3
Fairclough, N. (2007). Discourse and contemporary social change (Vol. 54). Peter Lang.
Fairclough, N. (2013). Critical discourse analysis: The critical research of language. Routledge.
Fairclough, N. (2013). Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical research of Language. Routledge.
Fowler, R. (2013). Language in the News: Discourse and Ideology in the Press. Routledge.
Fowler, R. (2013). Language in the News: Discourse and Ideology in the Press. Routledge.
Garland, J., & Rowe, M. (2001). Racism and anti-racism in football. Springer.
Greimas, A. J., & Courtes, J. (2008). Dicionário de semiótica. Contexto.
Greimas, A. J., & Courtés, J. (2008). Dicionário de semiótica. Contexto.
Gunaratnam, Y. (2003). Researching race and ethnicity: Methods, knowledge and power.Sage. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9780857024626
Hylton, K. (2009). ‘Race’ and Sport: Critical Race Theory. Routledge.
Kassimeris, C. (2007). European football in black and white: tackling racism in football. Lexington Books.
Kassimeris, C. (2007). European football in black and white: tackling racism in football. Lexington Books.
Landowski, E. (2003). La société réfléchie. PUF.
Nowicka, M. (2018). “I don’t mean to sound racist but . . . ” Transforming racism in transnational Europe. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 41(5), 824–841. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 01419870.2017.1302093
Podaliri, C., & Balestri, C. (2002). The ultràs, racism and football culture in Italy. In Fanatics (pp. 108-120). Routledge.
Podaliri, Carlo, and Carlo Balestri. "The ultràs, racism and football culture in Italy." In Fanatics, pp. 108-120. Routledge, 2002.
Van Dijk, T. A. (1999). Discourse and racism. Discourse & Society, 10(2), 147-148.
van Sterkenburg, J. (2019). Migration, race/ethnicity and sport media content: An international overview and suggestions for a future research agenda. In K. Smets, K. Leurs, M. Georgiou, S. Witteborn, & R. Gajjala (Eds.), The Sage handbook of media and migration (pp. 387–398). Sage Publications. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781526476982.n39
Wodak, R., & Reisigl, M. (1999). Discourse and racism: European perspectives. Annual review of anthropology, 28(1), 175-199.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Nawfal Alsaadi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright and Licensing:
For all articles published in Al-Adab journal, copyright is retained by the authors. Articles are licensed under an open access Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, meaning that anyone may download and read the paper for free. In addition, the article may be reused and quoted provided that the original published version is cited. These conditions allow for maximum use and exposure of the work.
Reproducing Published Material from other Publishers: It is absolutely essential that authors obtain permission to reproduce any published material (figures, schemes, tables or any extract of a text) which does not fall into the public domain, or for which they do not hold the copyright. Permission should be requested by the authors from the copyrightholder (usually the Publisher, please refer to the imprint of the individual publications to identify the copyrightholder).
Permission is required for: Your own works published by other Publishers and for which you did not retain copyright.
Substantial extracts from anyones' works or a series of works.
Use of Tables, Graphs, Charts, Schemes and Artworks if they are unaltered or slightly modified.
Photographs for which you do not hold copyright.
Permission is not required for: Reconstruction of your own table with data already published elsewhere. Please notice that in this case you must cite the source of the data in the form of either "Data from..." or "Adapted from...".
Reasonably short quotes are considered fair use and therefore do not require permission.
Graphs, Charts, Schemes and Artworks that are completely redrawn by the authors and significantly changed beyond recognition do not require permission.
Obtaining Permission
In order to avoid unnecessary delays in the publication process, you should start obtaining permissions as early as possible. If in any doubt about the copyright, apply for permission. Al-Adab Journal cannot publish material from other publications without permission.
The copyright holder may give you instructions on the form of acknowledgement to be followed; otherwise follow the style: "Reproduced with permission from [author], [book/journal title]; published by [publisher], [year].' at the end of the caption of the Table, Figure or Scheme.
How to Cite
