In the new UEFA documentary Outraged, Georgian national team player and vice captain Guram Kashia shares his personal experience with discrimination.
UEFA released a documentary to combat discrimination of all kinds in European football. The documentary features famous faces who come together to fight discrimination. Outraged takes viewers across Europe and North America to explore the complexities of discrimination in the global game.
Aleksander Ceferin, UEFA President, said: “Football has millions of followers around the globe.” We must show that discrimination in any form is wrong.
Ceferin added, “It is very important for players to speak up.” “They are the ones that suffer discrimination.” We must speak to [players] on the pitch who experience discrimination directly.”
In 2018, Guram Kashia received the #EqualGame Award in recognition of his support for the LGBT Community. In 2017, Kashia wore a rainbow-colored armband to support diversity and peace. He was the captain of Vitesse at the time. This caused outrage in conservative Georgians.
In UEFA’s documentary, Kashia speaks about the “taught times” he’s experienced and suggests ways to help eradicate racism. In Outraged he explains that he hopes to inspire others with his actions.
“I received a lot negative comments. It was a difficult time for me. I didn’t anticipate that much hatred. It hurts to be in a position like that. “I can only imagine what it’s like to be bullied in that way, it hurts, I know, because I have also experienced it”, says Kashia.
Kashia is one of many stars who share their stories in the hope of a better future. The documentary also features football stars such as Paul Pogba and Nadia Nadim.
Oliver Giroud, a player in the French Premier League, spoke of his shock after seeing “unacceptable”, homophobic banners displayed at a match last year between Paris Saint-Germain vs Metz.
Pernille Harer, Lucy Bronze and Rapinoe each explain how they’ve fought and still fight sexism in women’s soccer.
The documentary produced by UEFA is available for free to watch on UEFA.tv.
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