Club Brugge takes the next step in the fight against racism: “Not with us”

“There is no place for racism anywhere. Not in society, not in sport and certainly not with us,” it sounds in a communiqué. “As a Club, we are taking the lead in the fight against this. We have been conducting awareness campaigns for years to ban racism from our stadium. The past has shown that they do not have enough effect. That is why we are now going a step further.”

24,000 QR codes

24,000 QR Codes in the Jan Breydel Stadium should make it possible to detect, exclude and punish racism. Any fan who notices racist or discriminatory behavior can report it immediately via the QR code on the “#NIETMETONS sticker” or via the website “http://nietmetons.clubbrugge.be† (Read more below the photo.)

The reports are immediately followed up by the security service. Stewards are also deployed who have the concrete task of detecting racist or discriminatory behaviour. The “NMO stewards” have been specially trained for this and are recognizable by their black vests. Proven facts (for example through multiple reports and/or through checks by the stewards) will be punished with a stadium ban of at least two years.

Social problem

“Racism is a social problem that is present everywhere, including us,” says Club. “An absolute minority of the 28,000 fans who encourage blue-black every week ruins things for the others. Many fans indicate that they no longer want to be associated with this behavior, that it is enough. Not with us. If you express yourself racist , you’re not part of our family, you’re not with us. And we’re not taking it anymore, we’re reporting it.”

On Tuesday, the public prosecutor of West Flanders announced that the criminal investigation into the racist statements against Anderlecht coach Vincent Kompany during the Club Brugge-Anderlecht match on December 19 was completed without result. It turned out to be impossible to find out who made which statements.