This archive report was first published on 25 July 2019.
Published on July 25, 2019, a report by Kick It Out revealed a disturbing trend in English football - a 43% rise in racist abuse incidents in the 2018/19 season.
The equality and inclusion charity's annual report showed that reports of discrimination in professional and grassroots football increased by 32% to 422, from 319 the previous season.
Notably, racism remains the most common form of discrimination, accounting for 65% of reports. Faith-based discrimination, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, saw a 75% increase from 36 to 63.
Incidents of racist abuse marred several high-profile matches across Europe last season, including England's Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro, where fans abused Danny Rose, Raheem Sterling, and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Manchester City winger Sterling was also allegedly subjected to racist abuse in a match against Chelsea, while Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had a banana skin thrown at him by a Tottenham fan.
Overall, discrimination reports increased to 581, a 12% rise from 520 the season before and more than double the number recorded five years ago.
It is the seventh consecutive year that reported incidents of discrimination have increased, highlighting the need for sustained efforts to address the issue.
Kick It Out chief executive Roisin Wood stated, "Football reflects the society it is played and watched in, and these figures are sadly not surprising. The fact that racist reports have risen by 43 percent clearly shows the massive work that all of football still needs to do to challenge this."
