Anti-Roma racist incidents in a football match in Romania [editar]

Press release of FSG

On 24 September, a football match between Steaua Bucharest and Rapid Bucharest took place. During the match, racist chants against Roma were uttered by the Steaua’s fans, such as “We have always hated and will always hate the Gypsyies” and "Death to the Gypsies". The stadium of Rapid Bucharest is located in the popular neighbourhood of Giulesti, where many Roma live; therefore it is often associated with this ethnic group.

Among the numerous racist banners displayed, one was particularly serious, parodying UEFA’s campaign "Respect" with the sentence "Respect for Eugen Grigore". Eugen Grigore murdered 24 Roma in 1970. Also, members of Steaua’s technical team encouraged the public with a megaphone to shout anti-Roma slogans.

The incident was reported by several human rights organisations. Thanks to these reports, the Romanian Gendarmerie fined Steaua Bucharest with 30,000 euros for its responsibility in these racist incidents.

The FSG expresses its absolute rejection of such racist actions against the Roma minority. It has therefore asked the Romanian authorities and the managers of the Romanian football league to take strong action against such incidents in the future, to prevent the proliferation of hate speech inciting discrimination and violence against Roma people in football stadiums. The FSG has also sent letters denouncing this case to different European institutions of human rights and dedicated to the protection of minorities.

Read the article on this case by Valeriu Nicolae, from the NGO Policy Center for Roma and Minorities.