The time George Weah ran out of patience with racism

Weah, who leads the Players Voice Panel at FIFA, as the Captain of that body, says interventions like stepping up the fight against discrimination and countering hate speech at this World Cup is important.  

Weah, who played in France, Italy, and England, recalls this UEFA Champions League game against FC Porto, where he just couldn’t take it anymore...

"I experienced real racism and afterwards people still thought it was a joke after the game against FC Porto. When I told the player to stop calling me certain names he refused and carried on. I was provoked by it, confronted him and I was suspended."

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It was in 1995 that Weah made headlines, becoming the first and only African to win the FIFA Ballon D’Or award. He was a free-scoring striker at that time and won the scudetto in the Italian Serie A, helping the Rossoneri to reign supreme ahead of a strong Inter Milan, Juventus, and Parma back then. 

Interestingly, after he was sent-off for reacting, Weah was suspended, and even when he appealed, nothing happened, but now the intervention FIFA is coming up with ends these discriminatory acts.

Since 2024, the Players Voice Panel was introduced and has five steps to deal with discrimination in the game, starting with rules and sanctions, action on the field, criminal charges, education and the Players’ Voice. 

All FIFA member associations are required to implement the three-step procedure, with higher maximum fines up to five million Swiss Francs. Weah says the “Stop Hate and Protect Football” concept is about cleansing the game of the bad apples in the system.