The Royal Belgian Football Association (KBVB), Belgian professional football’s ruling body the Pro League, Football Flanders and its Francophone counterpart ACFF have joined forces to launch a new campaign targeting online hate messages. The initiative was launched on Wednesday.
Among those supporting the campaign is the Antwerp captain Toby Alderweireld. In a video the Antwerp skipper tells of the hate messages he received after scoring the winning goal that saw Antwerp become league champions last season. Referee Bram Van Driessche, Mariam Toloba of Standard de Liège’s women’s team, the Antwerp reserve team coach Faris Haroun and television sports presenter Séverine Parlakou also feature in the campaign.
The Come Together action plan has long sought to tackle discrimination and racism. Last year the campaign focused on racism, sexism and homophobia. This year the campaign has been extended to cover the issue of online hate messages.
Third Because We Care conference
The new initiative kicks off the third Because We Care conference during which ideas and action plans with regard to social and environmental issues will be shared. One of the speakers will be Mélissa Onana. She is the sister of the Belgian international Amadou Onana. Mélissa Onana will tell how she has faced racism and discrimination for years, including comments made online.
The Football Association has also teamed up with the Interior Ministry and the police to take punitive action against those that spread online hate. On the cometogether.be website victims are informed on how to adjust their social media settings to counter hate speech. It also explains how victims can report hate speech to the police.