ISRAEL: SOCCER / FOOTBAL - Former England soccer star John Barnes helps kick off a campaign against racism in football in the Arab town of Sakhnin

Record ID: 255796

  • Title: ISRAEL: SOCCER / FOOTBAL - Former England soccer star John Barnes helps kick off a campaign against racism in football in the Arab town of Sakhnin
  • Date: 7th March 2006
  • Summary: (S1) SAKHNIN, ISRAEL (MARCH 6, 2006) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) WIDE/INTERIOR: OF SOCCER STADIUM
  • Embargoed: 22nd March 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA15XNSZVG7W0JZAEZ6D1ZCHOS4
  • Story Text: Former England soccer star John Barnes helped kick off a campaign against racism in football in the Arab town of Sakhnin on Monday (March 6) as the Israeli FA begins a campaign in the Jewish state.
    Barnes, one of England's greatest black players who played in the 1980s and 90s, is in Israel with an English FA delegation to help raise the profile of the campaign which the Israel Football Association launched together with the New Israel Fund, a non-governmental organisation, and the Israeli Palestinian Football Association (PFA).
    After meeting with Israeli FA representatives in the coastal city of Tel Aviv, the British delegation toured the northern town of Sakhnin, where Barnes played street soccer with local children and tried scoring goals at the local stadium.
    "The Israeli FA, in conjunction with the New Israel Fund and the Israeli PFA (Palestinian Football Association) are now trying to launch 'kick it out' in Israel, which is to kick racism out of football in Israel. And we are here just to support them but also to give them the benefit of different experience in terms of the way we actually, I wont say achieved that because obviously we still have problems in England, but how we have advanced to this position where we are now in England where you don't hear any racist chants in football matches anymore," Barnes said, adding that the first step to fighting racism in the sport was to get the players involved.
    "We think if the players get involved, because the fans are the ones who idolise the players, the players are the most visible sign of football, their the ones ... I suppose that fans, football fans listen to players more than... they listen to politicians, they can send a bigger massage," he said.
    English FA officials first visited Israel in November 2004 when they presented the plan which had been successfully implemented in their leagues.
    The Israeli FA has now adopted a similar policy in the Jewish state with the help of Jewish and Arab soccer stars.
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