”Han kallade mig för apa” : En kvalitativ studie om vilka erfarenheter av kränkning det finns i de lägre divisionerna inom seniorfotbollen

Racism in elite football has been a topic that has been discussed in newspaper articles and social media. On the other hand, racism in the lower divisions has not been as well received. During two football matches that took place in the lower divisions, there were racist incidents where football players were downplayed about, among other things, their skin color and ethnicity. These two incidents aroused great interest in studying this phenomenon further. The purpose of the study is to gain knowledge of the experiences of abuse in men's football in the lower divisions. We have investigated how players from senior football experience degrading comments from the opposing team, players or supporters. We also investigated whether degrading comments have had an impact on the interviewees' ambitions to continue playing football. In order to answer our questions, we have conducted 10 qualitative interviews. The result shows that there is insults of supporters and opponents in the lower divisions. But something that surprised us was also that there is an insult from fellow players. Insults from opponents, supporters and fellow players occur through the depreciation of skin color and ethnicity. The result also shows that the insult has had a major impact on the interview participants, which has led to some interviewees thinking about quitting playing football