Anyone who observes discriminatory incidents in Austrian football or is affected by them can report them online.
In 2012, fairplay, the initiative for diversity and anti-discrimination, together with the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) and the Austrian Football League (ÖFBL) developed a procedure for reporting and documenting cases. The procedure "Reporting Discrimination in Football" has now been revised and simplified.
Fans, activists or club representatives can report (suspected) cases of racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-Semitism and (right-wing) extremism via an online form.
After receiving a report, the independent initiative fairplay starts a standardised procedure with the aim of documenting the incidents and taking measures against them together with the clubs and fans.
"The ÖFB strives to help create an environment in which all people are openly welcomed and integrated, regardless of their origin, gender or sexual orientation. As Austria's largest sports federation, the ÖFB stands for diversity, tolerance and integration in all areas of society," says Gerhard Milletich, ÖFB President.
Three-point plan
The procedure provides for three steps:
- Cause: Provided that the data of the person reporting the incident is available, the person reporting the incident is first consulted.
- Obtain information: Then fairplay contacts the involved clubs, if possible the involved persons/groups as well as ÖFB or ÖFBL (depending on the competence) in order to obtain further information, to get a comprehensive picture of the situation and to give all parties involved the opportunity to comment.
- Become active: An incident is taken as an opportunity by fairplay to take preventive action. This may include press releases and public relations work; campaigns and actions; educational workshops and training; development of long-term anti-discrimination strategies together with the associations or organisations concerned in order to prevent discrimination in the best possible way and in the future.
Kurt Wachter, head of the fairplay initiative for diversity and anti-discrimination at the VIDC, explains: "The recent increase in homophobic and anti-Semitic incidents as well as the resurgence of right-wing extremists in the stadium is a mandate to be even more vigilant. Reporting discrimination is a means by which we can highlight concrete problems. It's not primarily about punishing, but about taking a closer look and then taking preventive action together."
Reports of discrimination in football can be made anonymously, the reports are always treated confidentially by fairplay and personal information is only passed on to third parties with explicit consent.
As an advisory initiative, fairplay has no legal authority to take action against or impose sanctions on affected clubs/organisations for discrimination. This competence lies exclusively with the ÖFB or the Bundesliga or the football associations of the provinces in accordance with the provisions of the ÖFB Code of Conduct.
More information on the procedure can be found here:
Online form "Diskriminierung im Fußball melden".
More information and download the procedure for reporting discrimination in football as a PDF file.
