Kicking out discrimination in Serie A and Liga MX will be long but doable

(We're all Anna Frank)

It took the past World Cup for FIFA to realize the homophobic connotations of the popular Mexican 'p*to' chant yelled at rival goalies. It was during the draw between Brazil and Mexico in a crowded Castealo Stadium in Fortaleza:

The chant had become common currency in Liga MX venues (and was probably also present in South Africa 2010). But, back then, it didn't gather our attention as we may had normalized and dismissed it as 'normal' footballing banter/culture. For once, all those penalties imposed by FIFA on 'p*to' might work as this chant is now cast as an explicit symbol of discrimination.

Symbols are important in public; they render visible diverse social practices, some good, others not so.

In the past, certain European clubs' fangroups gained obscure reputations as intolerant and antisemite, although those manifestations couldn't get enough attention as much of that, like 'p*to', was normalized as 'normal' footballing banter/culture. Last weekend during a Serie A match, however, some alleged Lazio fans employed pictures of Anna Frank in order to insult AS Roma rivals.

Anna Frank's diary is not only a powerful historical symbol of resistance to Nazism and Fascism, but also a symbol of the power of education as one ideal institution for democracy and inclusion. In fact, sport is another of these institutions, battlegrounds between inclusion and exclusion.

As reported by the Italian media, the attempts made on the part of the Serie A at addressing those pseudo-Lazio fans by reading excerpts from Anna Frank's diary in the midweek matchday had mixed results: some groups of ultras booed, others kept chanting, as though nothing was happening, and some observed silently.

The thing is that intolerance and discrimination can no longer use the guise of footballing banter/culture. There's no way back once their expressions turn into public symbols of shame such as 'p*to' and Frank's photographs employed offensively.

Of course it's gonna take long to uproot these unacceptable social practices which have been around football pitches for as long as this sport has existed. Nevertheless, we have now identified their symbols and are prepared for symbolic battles and symbolic victories.

Serie A has taken the first step by reading Frank's diary. What will Liga MX do?