When a Tottenham Hotspur Football Club fan hurled a banana peel that landed near Arsenal Football Club striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang during a 2018 North London derby, a photographer captured the moment. That image became an arresting symbol of racism in soccer.

The intent behind the act was widely recognized and condemned across the football community. Outraged team officials publicly denounced the act, while Arsenal manager Unai Emery emphasized that “nobody accepts” incidents like it in global soccer.

The fan was fined £500 and banned from matches for four years. That same season, the Premier League’s domestic television deal was worth £5.1 billion.

The persistence of racist incidents, met with inconsistent sanctions and responses that address symptoms rather than causes, point to a governing framework that has failed to protect players or deter perpetrators.

In some cases, players subjected to racial abuse have been encouraged by fans, commentators and officials to accept such behaviour as an unfortunate reality of the sport. More troubling, victims have at times been blamed for provoking or contributing to the abuse they experience. These responses not only normalize racism but also shift responsibility away from perpetrators and the institutions responsible for creating safe and inclusive sporting environments.

In 2019, after England players were racially abused in Bulgaria, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) imposed a €75,000 fine on the Bulgarian Football Union. Given the substantial financial resources........

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