The Premier League is today announcing a three-year update on its No Room For Racism Action Plan. It shows progress being made to increase diversity across the game and reinforces the League’s commitment to tackling discrimination and supporting those who are subjected to racist abuse.
This update comes ahead of two match rounds (6-15 April) dedicated to No Room For Racism. During this period, the League and clubs will send a clear message that discrimination will not be tolerated in football or wider society, as well as demonstrating how diversity across all areas of the game makes it stronger.
The Action Plan was launched in 2021, outlining a series of commitments aimed at creating greater access to opportunities and career progression for Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups in football, along with actions to eradicate racial prejudice.
The three-year update highlights the progress being made and work carried out year-round in line with the key pillars of the Action Plan. This includes ongoing action against racism, as well as improving pathways for players, coaches and others working in football from ethnically diverse backgrounds.
No Room For Racism Action Plan: Three-year update
Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters said: “We are pleased that progress continues to be made against the targets we set three years ago when we launched the No Room For Racism Action Plan. We know more can be done, so both the League and our clubs will continue to prioritise this work as we look to create meaningful change.
“This change takes time, but we are moving in the right direction and are committed to breaking down barriers and providing more opportunities for people from under-represented groups.
“We will also continue supporting players and others within the game who are victims of racist abuse. We have a team of experts dedicated to this and will work with social media companies, the Government and authorities to ensure legislation and barriers are in place, while doing all we can to ensure those responsible are punished.”
The ongoing fight against discriminatory abuse, whether it occurs within stadiums or online, remains a priority. The League commits significant resource to taking action and supporting players and others connected to the game who face such abuse.
The League’s specialist investigative team continues to support players, their families and others working within football who are subjected to racism. The reporting system has since been made available to clubs to host on their websites, and fans can also report any racist abuse they see directly.
A combination of platform filtering, monitoring activities and real-world sanctions has helped drive down the number of reports received from players. In recent years, there has been a reduction in reports from 50-100 direct messages being reported per month to less than 70 throughout the current season.
Over the last two seasons, a matchday observer programme has been developed to ensure that fan-related behaviour within stadiums, including discriminatory abuse, is monitored closely at every Premier League fixture.
The Premier League and clubs are also committed to working with the authorities and tough sanctions are in place for anybody found guilty. Punishments include automatic stadium bans and legal prosecution. This can affect education and employment opportunities and could lead to custodial sentences.