A recent study by the University of South Australia reveals that most football spectators fail to report witnessed racist behaviour at matches. The study, Australia’s first large-scale examination of racism among fans, surveyed over 2000 spectators across AFL, NRL, and A-League matches. It found that half of AFL fans, 36% of NRL fans, and 27% of A-League fans had observed racist name-calling during games. Despite this, only a tiny fraction reported these incidents using the phone-text hotlines promoted at stadiums.
Dr Jamie Cleland, a senior lecturer in sport and management at UniSA, highlights a significant gap between witnessing and reporting racist behaviour. He emphasises that the effectiveness of penalties for racism relies on the willingness of spectators to report incidents.
Racist behaviour ranges from casual bigotry, where the speaker may be unaware of their language’s derogatory nature, to more blatant expressions of hatred in the relative anonymity of a crowd. Dr Cleland notes that despite increased media and sporting body awareness, poor behaviour continues both at games and on social media.
Efforts by the three professional leagues include anonymous reporting hotlines and publicising lifetime bans for racist fans. However, if such behaviour isn’t consistently challenged, it may persist. Australia’s top sport, Australian rules football, often reflects racial differences. Aboriginal professional footballers make up about 12% of AFL and NRL players, a notable overrepresentation given that the Aboriginal population is under 3%.
Aboriginal athletes have faced racial abuse for years. In 1993, Indigenous St Kilda player Nicky Winmar famously confronted Collingwood spectators by pointing to the colour of his skin, sparking a national discussion on racism in sport. Two years later, Essendon player Michael Long’s objection to racial vilification led to the creation of the Racial and Religious Vilification Policy in 1995. However, Aboriginal AFL players like Adam Goodes, Lance Franklin, and Eddie Betts continue to face abuse.
Earlier this month, a Hawthorn player was racially vilified on social media, prompting coach Sam Mitchell to condemn the behaviour. UniSA lecturer Connor MacDonald notes that racist behaviour by fans is often dismissed as unintentional or non-malicious. Some AFL fans argue that watching live sport brings out irregular emotions, and they don’t consider it ‘real’ racism. This attitude contributes to a denial of a more significant problem in society.
The AFL’s zero-tolerance approach to racial abuse has led to life bans for nine spectators since the start of the 2023 season. Dr Cleland stresses that bystanders must report racism and challenge poor behaviour to eradicate it from Australian men’s sport. The responsibility lies with white Australians, generally not targets of racism, to call out such behaviour and support robust action against those expressing racist views.
Without consistent challenge and enforcement, racist actions are likely to persist. The fight against bigotry requires collective responsibility and proactive measures to create a more inclusive environment in Australian sports.
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