Discrimination in Danish organised grassroots football: Gender, ethnicity, and sexuality

Søren Bennike, Nikolaj Schelde, Adam B. Evans*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingBook chapterResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Thirty-one-year-old grassroots football player Yasser Al-Hamad has experienced being called “monkey” and being told to “bug off to his home country” by opponents when attempting to provoke him in football matches. Similar discriminatory practices directed at others with non-normative identities in Danish organised grassroots football, including women and non-heterosexuals, are present. The personal narratives of Yasser and others can be understood as “personal troubles”, but they reflect more general tendencies that can be examined as public issues paying attention to experiences and attitudes towards gender, ethnicity, and sexuality. This chapter examines the interdependence between individual experiences of discrimination and discrimination as a social issue. We draw on individual testimonies about discriminatory experiences as well as a nation-wide survey of more than 8000 respondents, all of whom participate in organised grassroots football clubs. Results indicate that discrimination is a persistent social issue in sport even as diversity and inclusion are commonly raised as public goals. Discrimination is more often experienced by minorities than by the majority population and is not just an individual experience.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationSocial Issues in Sport, Leisure, and Health
EditorsSine Agergaard, David Karen
Place of PublicationAbingdon, Oxon
PublisherRoutledge
Publication date2023
Edition1
Pages40-55
Chapter3
ISBN (Print)9781032300313, 9781032300245
ISBN (Electronic)9781003303138
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Keywords

  • Faculty of Science
  • Organised grassroots football
  • Denmark
  • Discrimination
  • Gender
  • Ethnicity
  • Sexuality
  • Public issue
  • Social closure

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