Dutch football assoc. to tackle discrimination in amateur football

Dutch football association KNVB is stepping up the fight against discrimination and racism in amateur football. From this season onwards, discrimination reports will be registered separately, instead of under the 'border crossing behavior' category as in the past, a KNVB spokesperson said to NRC.

In this way the KNVB hopes to be able to take a more focused approach to clubs with many incidents of racism or other forms of discrimination. Perpetrators may be sent on a course to teach them about diversity, or may be punished through the KNVB's disciplinary system, according to the newspaper.

The KNVB disciplinary committee, which operates independently from the association, recently stressed that the association needs to put more effort into fighting discrimination in amateur football. "The well-known Champions League and Eredivisie slogans such as 'No to racism' must also be achieved in amateur football", the committee said.

The football association is doing everything in its power to fight racism and discrimination on the football fields, the KNVB spokesperson said to NRC. It is important that incidents are reported, he stressed. "We need the entire football community to be able to properly chart this problem and bring change together."