© BELGIUM
The French-speaking hockey league (LFH) received the ‘Stop Racism In Sport’ award for 2022 in Brussels on Tuesday. This award rewards a person or an organization that has distinguished itself through an action against racism in the world of sports. Thierry Witsel, father of professional football player Axel Witsel, is the driving force behind the association of the same name.
Bron: BELGIAN
Dominique Coulon, director general of the LFH, accepted the prize. “Ethics, respect, awareness and inclusion are among our pillars,” he explained. “In addition to monitoring and sanctioning, we also carried out awareness campaigns and prevention campaigns.” Nearly 4,500 children between the ages of eight and eleven received a book with a true story, teaching them how to act when confronted with denigrating and discriminatory behaviour.
Stop Racism in Sport describes the award as recognizing “people who fight to reduce racism in society and who promote sporting values of respect, solidarity and dignity, which are essential in the fight against racism.”
A special prize was also awarded to Laurent Thieule, president of the football club FC Kraainem, who spreads the association’s message by welcoming young refugees “and thus giving them opportunities to integrate”.
“Three out of four racism cases take place in amateur sports”
According to Unia, the public service that handles individual discrimination and racism reports, three out of four racism cases take place in amateur sports. Unia director Patrick Charlier said this on Tuesday at the award ceremony of Stop Racism in Sport for 2022.
“Racism and discrimination are a daily occurrence on the sports fields. Parents, coaches, athletes and spectators need to respond to that,” said Charlier. For Thierry Witsel, father of professional football player Axel Witsel and founder of the Stop Racism in Sport association, “it is important not to remain silent when unacceptable behavior occurs”.
The Stop Racism in Sport association awarded the prize to the French-speaking hockey league (LFH) in Brussels on Tuesday. The prize rewards a person or an organization that has distinguished itself through an action against racism in the world of sport.
Although a lot of attention is paid to racism problems in professional sport, of which the racist treatment of supporters of Juventus against Red Devil Romelu Lukaku (Inter) is a recent example, the large majority therefore takes place at the amateur level.
