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Football renews anti-racism fight
By CNN's Simon Hooper
LONDON, England (CNN) -- European football is planning a fresh campaign to tackle racism after the latest episode in which a black player was allegedly subjected to crowd abuse. Marcus Bent, a forward for English first division side Ipswich Town, says he was spat at during his side's clash with Yugoslav side Sartid Smederevo in the first round of the UEFA Cup on Thursday. "It was a hostile crowd. There was a lot of racist abuse, a lot of spitting when you went near the crowd," said Bent, whose penalty sealed victory in the tie for Ipswich. Bent's claim is the fourth case of alleged racism reported to UEFA, European football's governing body, by English clubs playing in European competitions this season.
Fulham issued a complaint following their clash with Hajduk Split in Croatia on September 19 while Liverpool said their black players had been targeted by Valencia fans on their Champions League visit to Spain in the same week. Following Arsenal's 4-0 Champions League win at PSV Eindhoven on September 24 French striker Thierry Henry said Dutch fans threw cigarette lighters and coins at him and also shouted racist slurs. All four cases have been referred to UEFA's disciplinary committee, which next meets on October 10. However, UEFA has also launched a wider effort, in conjunction with the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network, to drive racism out of the sport. "There is no place for racism in football," said UEFA Chief Executive Gerhard Aigner in a statement. "UEFA will conduct investigations into the latest incidents but we also believe a wider campaign is needed to raise awareness and make clear football's opposition to racism. "Everyone has a responsibility to act and do all they can to help kick racism out of football." As part of that effort FARE, which coordinates the work of anti-racist organisations around Europe, will hold its third Action Week later this month, when fans, ethnic minorities and football clubs are being urged to stand united against discrimination. Piara Powar, director of the British Kick it Out campaign, believes UEFA has now woken up to the severity of the problem. "Over the last couple of years UEFA has been a lot more pro-active," Powar told CNN. "The financial support for FARE, which will enable the network to organise the events we'll see in October, has been a huge step forward. "There's also been a number of other policy developments that have been helpful, such as the fact UEFA is now saying quite explicitly that it will look at severe punishments for clubs." As a key member of FARE, Kick it Out will be heavily involved in its awareness-raising campaign later this month. "In England we've got 75 of the 92 clubs on board for symbolic activities inside stadiums and we've given out £25,000 to community groups to hold activities," said Powar. "In Austria, Italy, Germany, Scandinavia, Poland and Hungary there will be similar events led by fans' organisations. "We're also planning a conference with UEFA next year to get all the relevant football associations to discuss racism and ways of confronting it."
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