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Intercultural mediation in football
The following text by Hans-Jürgen Rojahn draws on an example from the German youth football league to illustrate the role of mediation.
Mediation represents
an attempt to reach an agreement between two arguing parties - mediators don't like to see a winner or a loser – and this can even work in football when disputes break out on the pitch
Jens Meyer playing for TUS Altdorf in a youth team relegation battle
(first play-off) gets tackled and is injured with a broken jaw. The foreign player responsible for the
injury, Ali Maret, playing for Eintracht Neuberg (all names have been changed by the
author) is substituted in the 75th minute. He walks off the pitch at the opponent's end. |
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You will find background information on mediation methods in basic course 4 of this Peace Education main subject group (... go to page on "mediation") |
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One of the players sitting TUS Altdorf's bench decides to call out something that is not understood by anyone
else to the player who has just been substituted. Ali thinks that he's been insulted and hits the youth in the face. This provokes the uncle of the victim to lay into Ali. Now others also get
involved, trying to break the fight up. Once some degree of calm as returned to the
proceedings, the game continues.
Rather than marking the end of the conflict between TUS Altdorf and Eintracht Neuberg,
however, the final whistle simply serves in signifying the end of round one: The disagreement and the brawl is called before the district judiciary
committee. In the meantime the official responsible for the sport in the district reports the incident to the management of the "Intercultural Mediation in Football"
project. This project was initiated by the state of Hessen's Youth Sport department and has been discharged in cooperation with the Hessen Football
Association since 1998. The project management team decides to put together a team of mediators and they set out to contact those in charge of the youth football teams
immediately. The hearing in front of the judiciary committee is only days away. Given their concerns about the coming return
match, both of the youth football managers are keen to agree to mediation. The return game is scheduled to take place in four
weeks.
"Relieving tension"
In complex situations such as this it has been found that it makes sense to talk to each side of the conflict
separately in preliminary talks before the actual mediation process takes place. This serves in explaining the process to the parties involved and giving them the opportunity to "let off steam". The first preliminary talks are held with representatives from TUS Altdorf. During these talks the
conflict is described in detail from their own point of view. Meanwhile the district judiciary committee has heard the
case: Ali Meret from Eintracht Neuberg has been banned from playing for 7
months; the uncle of the youth attacked has been ordered to pay a fine along with Eintracht Neuberg football
club.
The main issue now is how to break down the atmosphere of hostility that has built up before the next game
(return leg). During the mediation process, TUS Altdorf keeps returning to the differences between the two
clubs. TUS Altdorf says that it is a countryside club. Most of its players go to grammar school in the nearby
city. In contrast, most of Eintracht Neuberg's players are foreigners. All of those
present, however, are keen to point out that they have nothing against
foreigners. Indeed, there are also two foreigners in their own team.
Both of the captains said that often felt uneasy following games with Eintracht Neuberg when they came up against large groups belonging to the
team. When the mediators asked them what they thought could be achieved from joint
talks, those present expressed their hope that "tension could be relieved both on and off the
pitch, that sport could be separated from the private sphere and that the teams could take part as a
whole." All of those present expressed their desire for a process of
mediation.
"Idiot is bad enough - but we draw the line at bloody foreigner"
The youth
officer, the chairman and 7 of the team's players take part in the preliminary talks with Eintracht Neuberg.
Here, too, those present were keen to highlight the crux of the dispute from their point of
view. The youth officer emphasized that everyone very much regretted the
incident. As far as this team was concerned, it was discovered that Eintracht's players were continually subjected to xenophobic verbal
abuse. The actual words used were: "Idiot is bad enough, but we draw the line at bloody
foreigner." The Eintracht players did not revel in their reputation as a group of trouble
causers. They also expressed their wish for an experienced, older referee to be put in charge of the
game.
These young players discussed their views and what they would like to see happen in a great deal of detail and with much
passion. At the end of the session, they all expressed their wish for mediation to take place with TUS Altdorf. Both clubs clearly stated that they wanted to take part in a joint mediation session
involving all the players and the adults attached to the clubs. The meeting encompassed 40 people in all. It's not usual for so many people to be involved in a mediation
session. Mediation often takes place between those directly involved as a way of resolving the
conflict. In this case, however, a large number of people felt that they were involved in the
conflict.
In order to complete the mediation session in around 3 hours during one evening
(the possibility of organizing several meetings was rejected by those taking
part), those present elected 10 speakers for each club (3 adults, 7
players). With these speakers, each team entered into the individual phase of the mediation
process. During the preliminary talks, both teams had agreed that the violence that had taken place between the two teams should not play any role in the joint
talks.
Instead, it was decided that the subject should be how to introduce fair play into future
matches. Both clubs had a considerable interest in making sure that future matches between the two teams were played out in a non-violent and fair way and in a good sporting
spirit. A written agreement was signed at the end of the session by all 20 elected
speakers. It was agreed that any violation of the agreements would result in the offender buying a drink for the other
team. The chairman of both teams would be responsible for looking out for violations and making sure that the drinks were bought for the other
team.
It was reported to the mediators that the ensuing return leg between the two teams had been played out
"peacefully and fairly". All agreements had been adhered to. |
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The agreement:
1. We will calm each other down
(this will be done by the closest player).
2. We will welcome each other before the game by shaking
hands.
3. We agree to be responsible for our own supporters and for everything that happens on the pitch
4. We will shake hands after the
game.
5. No insults or threats will be expressed before, during or after the
game.
6. We will apologize following a foul. |
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[Hans-Jürgen Rojahn in: zivil - Zeitschrift für Frieden und Gewaltfreiheit, No. 4/2003]
More texts on the subject of "Sport and preventing violence":
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