World

Gaza Strip (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Every meal in Umm Nahed Abu Shar's tent in a Gaza camp is shared with a cloud of flies and accompanied by the overpowering stench of sewage -- a growing threat alongside the ongoing war.

A report released by a European activist group on Thursday said the Gaza Strip is "drowning" in hundreds of thousands of tonnes of uncollected human waste and rubble from the Israel-Hamas war, which could soon spread to the surrounding region.

Lyon (AFP) – Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? Well, quite a few European governments, it seems.

Grey wolves were virtually exterminated in Europe a century ago but now, thanks to conservation efforts, numbers have rebounded.

French police have set up traffic and security perimeters in Paris to ensure the safety and protection of residents, athletes and visitors over the duration of the Olympic games, which begin Friday 26 July.

French security forces began locking down large parts of central Paris on Thursday ahead of the hugely complex Olympics opening ceremony next week on the river Seine.

Seoul (AFP) – South Korea's Supreme Court recognised new rights for same-sex couples Thursday, saying the state must provide health insurance for a gay man's partner in a landmark ruling that left activists weeping for joy.

The country's highest court ruled it was "discrimination" for state health insurers to treat same-sex couples differently from their heterosexual counterparts, in a verdict that activists said could pave the way for the eventual legalisation of same-sex unions in the South.

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, took a long-awaited swim in the murky waters of the Seine on Wednesday amid joy and relief that the river is finally clean enough for outdoor Olympic swimming events later this month.

Wearing goggles and a wet suit, the 65-year-old city leader swam breaststroke under bright sunshine before immersing her face and beginning a front crawl, covering around 100 meters (yards) downstream.

Eastern Europe, once seen as immune to the opioid crisis wreaking havoc across North America, has been ramping up its fight against the rise of the dangerous, synthetic drugs.

There have been dozens of deaths and many more arrests in Poland this year linked to synthetic drugs, including mephedrone -- an alternative to cocaine -- as well as fentanyl and nitazenes.

Despite the disappointing outcome of the 2024 men’s Euros final for England, it’s a relief that none of the team’s ethnic minority players could easily be targeted for the result. However, the horrific racist abuse experienced by three of England’s star players following a failed penalty shootout in the Euro 2020 final against Italy – Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford – is still fresh in many people’s minds.

Despite the outcry that followed, and many fans rallying behind the players, racial discrimination and abuse remain rife throughout men’s football. For example, newspapers recently used images of Saka as the face of England’s recent defeat to Iceland, and a fan was convicted of shouting racist abuse in a English League One match.

Following these examples, and the racist abuse that one of us (Kolawole Osinnowo) has experienced throughout their time in football, we wanted to explore the longer-term impacts of such abuse on players from ethnically diverse communities. We specifically wanted to better understand the racial trauma brought on by this abuse.

Surprisingly, there has been very little research undertaken in racial trauma and sport. Our literature review found only six journal articles, which were largely focused on the US collegiate system, for example two on American Football, three studies on athletics and one for those in athletics, swimming and diving.

Although college sport is an important part of the US sporting landscape, it was surprising to see no research in other global sports, like football. As such, we spoke to eight current and former professional and semi-professional male footballers in England, from a variety of ethnically diverse backgrounds, to understand the trauma caused by racial abuse they’d experienced.

The themes developed in our ongoing research largely mirror those in the US collegiate system, highlighting some really stark trauma from racist abuse. This includes suicidal thoughts, early retirement and loss of identity. This racial abuse ranged from overt incidents during games, to online abuse and stereotyping. We found that it had a negative impact not just on players’ mental health, but also their careers.

One of the main reported consequences of racially traumatic experiences is psychological distress. This includes a range of intense and debilitating emotions, such as anxiety, fear, disappointment, sadness and exhaustion.

Bukayo Saka released a statement following the racist reaction to England’s loss in Euro 2020. He said that there is “no room for racism or hate of any kind in football”, insisting he would not let “the negativity I’ve received this week break me”. He also encouraged fans to report racist comments to the police.

The existing research, and our own, has identified that players often avoided triggers or situations that perpetuated upsetting thoughts and emotions. For example, in our study two former players said that they retired early from professional football due to the traumatic toll of racial abuse. This emphasises not only the psychological aspect of racial trauma, but also the impact on players’ livelihoods.

There have been numerous different coping mechanisms recognised in the existing research on racial trauma in sport. For example, some athletes felt that confiding in people within their own communities – both within and beyond sport – helped, as there was a lack of trust in those from outside. This lack of trust may result in players feeling uncomfortable to seek professional psychological support.

Our participants reported feeling embarrassed, angry or ashamed of being a victim of this abuse. This often results in harmful coping mechanisms. Some participants have suggested that racial trauma led to substance or alcohol abuse. Others explained that to protect themselves from abuse they developed an ego – but this started to have a negative impact on how they were perceived by coaches and management staff. This is another example of racial trauma negatively affecting their career as well as their mental health.

Navigating white spaces

Previous research suggested that players felt an expectation to follow white cultural norms in sport. Our research has also found this, but uncovered more upsetting stories too.

One participant called up to represent England questioned why he still felt like an outsider, and why others felt they could still treat him differently when they were all representing their country. Another stated that racial incidents over long periods in football led him to dislike his blackness. He started to straighten his hair, use lightening cream and changed the way he spoke to “fit in” to the traditional white spaces in football.

He felt this led to a loss of identity, and he attempted to take his own life, as he felt he no longer knew who he was. These really evocative experiences bring to life the seriously traumatic impacts of racial abuse.

As highlighted in our ongoing research, racial trauma in sport can have devastating and long-term consequences for victims, but has had little consideration from football researchers or policymakers. A number of our participants have been retired for quite a while, but the trauma is still present during interviews. This highlights the long-term impact of such abuse.

In terms of practical next steps, our participants felt that until there’s better representation in boardrooms and point deductions for teams whose players are guilty of racial incidents, then little will change. Previous research has demonstrated the importance in boardroom diversity, so we add our voices to this call. More research is also needed in other fields, like women’s football.

As one of our research participants put it: “There’s such a support network around anxiety and mental health … I just wish the same energy would be put towards trauma.”

A few days after Labour leader Keir Starmer was elected British prime minister on July 4 with a landslide victory, ending 14 years of Conservative-led rule, a coalition of left-wing parties came out on top in the French legislative elections. It was a good week for the left in this corner of Europe.

The French result, which came despite many polls predicting the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) would emerge with the most seats, ushered in an unprecedented period of political uncertainty in France.

Jerusalem (AFP) – Hamas led other Palestinian armed groups in committing hundreds of war crimes in the surprise October 7 attack on Israel that set off the Gaza war, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Wednesday.

Hamas reacted with fury to one of the most in-depth international studies on the unprecedented incursion into southern Israel, demanding that HRW withdraw the report and "apologise".

Tel Aviv (AFP) – The families of five Israeli women soldiers held hostage in Gaza since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Tuesday pleaded with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make an accord for their release before he goes to Washington next week.

Facing mounting international and domestic criticism, Netanyahu is set to speak to a joint meeting of the US Congress on July 24 and to meet President Joe Biden. The families released new pictures of the detainees to increase pressure on Netanyahu.