A Game for All? Soccer’s Ongoing Struggle With Discrimination
Soccer is considered the most popular sport in the world. With fans worldwide, players represent a diverse range of backgrounds and nationalities, making the playing field a multicultural environment in most instances. Sadly, soccer’s status as the most global sport has not spared players from facing cases of racial discrimination inside and out of the field. Just recently, French footballer Allan Saint-Maximin was forced to leave Mexico and return to France after his daughters had to confront multiple racially driven acts of discrimination. These kinds of actions are, unfortunately, not uncommon in the realm of soccer, where fans have witnessed repeated examples of racism, which endanger the integrity of the team members, their families, and the sport they adore.
Saint-Maximin went from signing a contract to play for Mexican team Club América over the period of two years in August 2025, to drastically returning to France and joining the Ligue 1 Lens team just a few days ago. Although neither Saint-Maximin nor Club América went into detail as to what had happened, it is confirmed that the reason the Frenchman returned home has to do with his children. Saint-Maximin is the father of three, two daughters and a son. Shortly before the Mexican Club announced his departure, he posted on Instagram a statement that reiterated the importance of his children’s well-being in the face of adversity: “Protecting my children is my priority, and I will fight with all my might to ensure they are respected and loved, regardless of their background and skin color”. Three days after the statement, Saint-Maximin announced his signing with Lens.
Allan’s story follows many cases of racial discrimination that have flooded soccer fields for years. Just last summer, during the Women’s European Championship, English defender Jess Carter faced racially abusive comments on her social media after the Lionesses’ defeat against France. She decided to take a step away from her socials following the events. Just a month afterwards, during the German Cup, a player for Second-division Schalke, Christopher Antwi-Adjei, was verbally abused by the audience, which delayed the game for a period of time, and put racism back into conversation in Germany. In Spain, a man was charged for the first time for racial abuse inside a stadium against Espanyol player, Iñaki Williams, in a game against Athletic Club. Although the event took place in 2020, steps are finally being taken against these kinds of criminal actions.
There is a long way to go to provide players with the integrity and respect they deserve. Steps have been taken to combat discrimination within soccer, but cases like Saint-Maximin’s show us that there is still a long way to go before the playing field becomes a safe space for everyone. On the eve of the FIFA World Cup, in a period of time where things seem tense amongst nations, remembering what all soccer fans have in common is vital. Let us hope things only improve from now on.
