Kick It Out (organisation)
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| Founded | 1993 |
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| Country | England, United Kingdom |
| Website | www.kickitout.org |
Kick It Out was established as a campaign with the brand name 'Let's Kick Racism Out of Football' in 1993 and as an organisation in 1997.
The organisation works within the football, educational and community sectors to challenge discrimination, encourage inclusive practices and work for positive change.
The campaign is supported and funded by the game's governing bodies, including founding body the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA), the Premier League and the Football Association (FA).
Internationally Kick It Out plays a leading role in the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network and has been cited as an example of good practice by the European governing body UEFA, the world governing body FIFA, the Council of Europe, the European Commission, European parliamentarians and the British Council.
Kick It Out has come under criticism from ethnic minorities in the football industry for not having a big enough impact on the punishment of players and fans convicted of racist abuse. In the autumn of 2012, at the end of a footballing week marred by racial abuse and violence in an international under-21 fixture between England and Serbia, the campaign organised for Premier League players to wear shirts bearing the organisation's logo before their matches. However, the directive was boycotted by several black players, including Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand,Manchester City's Micah Richards and Reading's Jason Roberts, in protest against the lack of action by the organisation in the wake of high-profile cases of footballers racially abusing their opponents during matches. Following that incident, Manchester City player Joleon Lescott refused to wear the Kick It Out T-shirt before games. This follows his involvement with an FA inquiry into alleged racial abuse against Everton player Joseph Yobo by Newcastle United's Emre. Although Lescott had given written evidence, Emre escaped punishment.
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