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Belgium Introduces Mandatory Anti-Racism Courses for Banned Football Fans
Wednesday 13 November 2019, by
After approving the measure that "football fans who make racist or homophobic comments must be immediately banned from the stadium", the Belgian Pro League announced on Tuesday that these supporters will now have to take a course before being reintegrated into the stands.
Ban from stadiums, but also punish all those responsible for "discriminatory and hurtful chants and statements". This is the objective of the Pro League, which brings together the 24 Belgian professional clubs.
With this measure, which will be officially presented on Wednesday, November 13, the Pro League intends to find a solution to this problem that has persisted for a long time due to a lack of awareness.
To achieve its goal, the Pro League, which relies on a number of guidelines that professional clubs must respect, has also warned against any breach.
"In recent years, after a series of incidents, these behaviors could no longer go unpunished," observes a spokesperson for 7sur7.be.
According to this Pro League representative, "there was no real awareness, it was always presented as folklore. Those days are over. For each offensive chant that appears in the referee’s or match delegate’s report, the clubs concerned will have to answer to the Union’s public prosecutor’s office," the same source reports.