Commenting on the “Nonviolent Communication in Sports” project, Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun said: “Sports are a game before competition, and there is no room for cheating. With our ‘Make a Gesture to Your Opponent’ campaign, we are reminding people that the opponent is an integral part of the game.”
Altun answered the questions of Fotomaç newspaper about the “Nonviolent Communication in Sports” project carried out by the Directorate of Communications.
You have launched the "Nonviolent Communication in Sports" project. Why did you feel the need for such a project?
Football has become more than just a game for people. Similarly, the players have become individuals with the power to influence the masses. With the unifying power of sports, fans come together around the teams they support and adopt the values they attribute to these teams. However, the lack of good governance of this unifying power can also lead to confrontations between players and fans, and the formation of blind enmity.
Unfortunately, it is sometimes forgotten that sports events should take place within the framework of sportsmanship. While stadiums are expected to be an environment where people share a common excitement and an enthusiastic atmosphere, we witness disgraceful acts that overshadow the games.
Therefore, the necessity of accurate, effective and continuous communication in football and other sports is undeniable. The language of violence used in sports and the unfavourable acts we witnessed have shown us the importance of creating awareness about fair play and the power of the game in players, clubs and also the fans.
In this project, as well as implementing non-violent communication in sports, it is aimed to redefine the opponent. How do we define the opponent on the other side? An enemy we must defeat? We should not forget that sports are a game before competition. There is no room for cheating, friendship cannot be excluded even in a competitive environment. With our ‘Make a Gesture to Your Opponent’ campaign, we are reminding people that the opponent is an integral part of the game. With this campaign, we say to football lovers “dedicate yourself to football with heart and soul, not with violence”.
What steps have been taken and will be taken under this project?
The first step of the project has been initiated in the youth setup of clubs. Within this scope, all the youth setup players from Turkish Football Federation Football Pools Development League Istanbul Elite A and B U19 to U14 have been given training. In these 3-hour trainings, the effects of violence, non-violent communication in football, empathy and ethics have been covered with visuals and videos. In the training, it was underlined that victory can be achieved only in fair ways, honesty and only through the game.
With the Nonviolent Communication in Sports project, we aimed at preventing violence and hate wherever football reached, from players to fans and families, from management to the media. One of the main facts that our project aims to draw attention to is that the game cannot be won without an opponent on the other side.
Comprehensive efforts are needed to add value to football and pass on a better football world to future generations. In this context, we observe that the rhetoric of hatred and violence in football is influencing the language used by the media as well. In order for our “Nonviolent Communication in Sports” Project to succeed, media members should carefully approach this issue while carrying out their communication management in this field.
What are the underlying reasons for hate speech in football?
Unfortunately, in some situations, humanitarian values and tolerance can be left aside and winning the game may become the priority.
A behaviour considered wrong and an individual would normally avoid making on his own in daily life may be easily carried out by fans during a football game, which points to a clear lack of awareness.
The opponent team and fans can sometimes be regarded as hostile strangers.
This attitude can especially be adopted against players in the opponent team belonging to a different religion and race. For example, recently, Inter’s black player Romelu Lukaku was subjected to racist chants by the opponent team Cagliari’s fans during a Serie A-game.
We sadly observe that the discrimination targeting players can extend beyond religious or racial background to the players’ homeland and culture.
How should we fight against the behaviour of fans targeting players?
Infamous attacks leave a lasting impact on both the players and the society and lead to the impression that football incites hatred and intolerance within societies. In this context, football clubs who do not want to be associated with racist incidents can highlight values such as tolerance and respect, and ensure that the fans adopt a positive impression about the and it positively influences their behaviour.
These steps will have impacts far beyond contributing to the image of football clubs. The positive repercussions of constructive behaviours by fans who are directed towards awareness about their behaviour by the football clubs will be felt throughout society.
Is it possible to talk about an extensive effect of gestures among players in football?
Fair Play means the moments when a player has an opportunity to get ahead of his rival but does not take this opportunity because it will not be fair. Footballers give the message that the aim is not “to win the game no matter what” but to “win fairly.”
If we want Fair Play to become widespread in our country, we must remember that this will be possible with comprehensive training to be provided to our sportsmen at younger ages. Expecting decisive victory from the players will reduce the value of Fair Play phenomenon and will result in ambition to dominate the games.
Football is considered a sports branch with great uniting power and a high level of interaction with society. Is there a limit to communication between football and society?
Football brings people around common feelings and offers an atmosphere in which joy and sadness are shared. The feelings and perceptions that will be conveyed to spectators and therefore to the society, in general, are of great importance.
We have all followed the discussions our National Team faced. Our National Team performed military salutes following the goals scored during the EURO 2020 Qualifiers games versus Albania and France. Then the UEFA launched an investigation. The said salute, which does not involve any racist, discriminative or hatred reference, has been politicized and become a topic of discussion. We regard this as intolerance towards Turkey. While our country was bitterly struggling terrorism, our National Team wanted to support our army with a salute for their goals. This act of support does not deserve such a huge reaction. I believe in the uniting power of football and I think fruitless discussions should not overshadow its uniting power.