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AP National

Soccer authorities move toward tougher sanctions for racial abuse over last decade

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Published 9:08 PM

By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer

GENEVA (AP) — Kevin-Prince Boateng set soccer on a path toward tougher sanctions in cases of discrimination when he walked off the field to protest racial abuse by an opposing team’s fans a decade ago. His teammates had his back when he refused to tolerate the abuse from fans of a small provincial Italian club during a mid-season exhibition game in 2013. Boateng kicked the ball toward the opposing fans before striding back to the locker room. Then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter seized the moment to demand tougher punishments for clubs, national federations and their teams. Longer bans. Point deductions. Relegation or expulsion from competitions and tournaments. But few of the toughest sanctions have been applied and racism is still a problem in stadiums.

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