Jeffrey Webb is taking his responsibilities as FIFA’s new anti-racism chief seriously, as he says he wants to meet the victims and perpetrators of racial abuse in the Premier League, including John Terry and Luis Suarez.
Webb, 48, who is from the Cayman Islands, became president of CONCACAF last year and is also a FIFA vice president. As part of his fact-finding mission in his new role as FIFA’s anti-racism chief, Webb said he wants to “hear both sides”.
Webb is going to England to see how the Football Association responded to last season’s incidents involving Suárez and Terry. Liverpool’s Suárez was banned for eight matches for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra. Terry served a four-match ban after the Chelsea captain made a racist remark to the QPR defender Anton Ferdinand.
Webb said: “It is a huge concern to be honest. During a game for me it is unacceptable, I think the incidents were unacceptable. The FA has been very aggressive in their campaign and I think if these incidents do exist in an environment such as the Premier League then it begs the question what happens in some other leagues where they don’t have the resources and the will and the desire as the English FA has had over the years.
“I will be meeting with the FA chairman David Bernstein and visiting the FA. At that time, I would also like to meet with some of the players, perhaps have a round-table discussion to talk to the players and get their input, get some suggestions from them and learn from their experiences.”
Webb added that he would like to meet both the perpetrators and the victims of the racial abuse. He said he thinks that black players have been let down by football’s authorities.
“We’ve been talking for a long time in football and I don’t really think that we’ve supported the players,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve necessarily put the right sanctions in place to support them. It’s a travesty that it comes to that.
“We as FIFA and the governing bodies have to make sure that players like Kevin-Prince Boateng (of Milan) and all the players around the world have the same rights and opportunities,” Webb added. “I really don’t think that financial instruments in today’s world is enough to deal with it.
“With the money that’s involved in football today, the fines that are being established, I don’t think they’re working, obviously.”
After the Suarez and Terry cases, the association announced a new anti-racism plan in December under which professional clubs were warned that they will face sanctions for failing to deal with racial abuse by players, coaches or their fans.
The association also promised to strive for at least 10 per cent of referees and level-one coaches to come from ethnic minority backgrounds, and for players and coaches from abroad to undergo mandatory induction lessons to make them aware of the “British cultural environment”.
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