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Teams' anti-racism message in Vienna

The national teams and associations of Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina used Tuesday's Vienna friendly to give a strong message that racism and discrimination have no place in football.

Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina unite against racism and discrimination
Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina unite against racism and discrimination ©Gepa Pictures

The national teams and national associations of Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina joined forces at Tuesday's friendly between the two sides in Vienna to give strong support to the fight against racism and discrimination.

Players from both teams lined up before the game to show racism the red card and underline their backing for the movement to eliminate the phenomenon from football.

"The Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) and the Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Federation (NFSBiH), as well as the Fair Play, Different Colours, One Game initiative, commit to cooperate for a game without discrimination," said the ÖFB in a statement, "and to emphasise the use of football's potential to create a respectful and peaceful society."

The Austrian national association has collaborated over many years with the Fair Play, Different Colours, One Game initiative, which was launched in 1997 by the Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation (VIDC) – a longstanding friend of the FARE network – and annual anti-discrimination activities have taken place at national-team matches since 2006.

The NFSBiH is also very active in this area in tandem with FairPlay-VIDC, which in partnership with the Balkan Alpe Adria Project (BAAP) is a major coordinator in the fight against football-related nationalism, racism and discrimination in the Western Balkan region. UEFA also supports the work in the region. 

The message against racism, discrimination and intolerance received maximum exposure at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion, with fans being urged to make their contribution towards reinforcing the campaign.

Both captains also gave their full backing. "Discrimination in the form of insults or exclusion should have no place in football," said Austria's Christian Fuchs. "This should be evident not only for all football fans, but for society in general."

"There is no place for discrimination and nationalism in football," added Bosnia and Herzegovina skipper Edin Džeko. "We players are role models, our national team is a symbol of cohesion and diversity."

"With this action, a clear signal of respect and friendship should be given against exclusion and racism," the ÖFB stressed. "Prejudices – against people of different race or skin colour, different sex or sexual orientation – should not be an issue, either in society or in the stadium."

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