Summary
29 May 2012
Sol Campbell has warned fans to 'stay away' from Euro 2012. The former England captain's warning came after seeing footage taken by the 大象传媒. It shows racist abuse and violence at recent matches in Poland and Ukraine. UEFA, European football's governing body, says it has zero tolerance of racism.
Reporter:
Chris Rogers
Listen
Click to hear the report
Report
Poland and Ukraine won the bid to host Euro 2012 over five years ago. But with the tournament now just days away, questions are being raised about both player and fan safety.
Footage of matches in both host nations in recent months shows Nazi salutes from the terraces, black players being taunted with monkey chants and in Ukraine, a vicious assault on a group of Asian students.
The attack happened in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city and a Euro 2012 host. While we filmed a series of scuffles between rival fans, suddenly the hooligans spot a new target - a small group of Asian students there to support the home team.
We showed former England captain Sol Campbell our footage of the group being set upon. He questioned the decision to award Euro 2012 to the host nations.
The Euro 2012 final is in Kiev, Ukraine's capital. British Government advice for fans is for those of Afro Caribbean or Asian descent to take extra care in Ukraine because of racially motivated attacks. Sol Campbell's advice is more direct:
"Stay at home, watch it on TV. Don't even risk it... because you could end up coming back in a coffin."
Uefa said the matches filmed by the 大象传媒 were domestic and are a matter for national football authorities. It said Euro 2012 is a chance to address and confront issues like racism.
Listen
Click to hear the vocabulary
Vocabulary
- being raised
being asked
- footage
unedited pieces of film or video recordings
- taunted
provoked or challenged
- vicious
deliberately cruel or violent
- scuffles
short, confused fighting
- hooligans
violent, young troublemakers
- racially motivated
encouraged by differences in race or ethnic origin
- domestic
played between teams from the same country
- a matter
an issue/ of concern
- confront
face up to