Football: Anti-racist protests

(First Edition)

ITALIAN and German players, alarmed by an upsurge of racism and violence on the terraces, plan mass protests before this weekend's league matches. In Italy all Serie A and Serie B teams will unfurl 40-foot banners saying 'No to Racism' while leaflets preaching tolerance will be distributed. In the German Bundesliga, players are dropping sponsors' names from their shirts to display the slogan 'my friend is a foreigner'.

Italian police have twice this season found weapons and Nazi banners in stadium searches, while black players in Germany have described the Bundesliga as one of the most racist in football.