Impact of Muslim footballers in UK football on decreasing hate crimes

Saoud Khalaf, a British-born Iraqi filmmaker and writer based in London, who focuses in his writings on social justice for marginalized groups with specific attention on the Middle East, has written an article on the effect of growing representation of Muslims in UK football which has changed drastically over the years.

On 5 February 2012, St James Park Stadium, the Newcastle United striker Demba Ba, after scoring his miraculous goal, ran towards the corner flag while pointing to the fans who were in hysteria.

  Alongside him appeared fellow Senegalese forward, Papiss Cisse. They both lower themselves to the ground to assume a position of prostration, an element of Islamic prayer known as Sujud.
 
This crucial component of Islamic prayer has become such iconic imagery within the English game. So much so, that the celebration made it into the world’s biggest football video game, FIFA 13.

In the article, Khalaf recalled the racist and offensive remarks British PM, Boris Jonson, made against Muslim women when he likened them to “letterboxes” prior to taking office. A week after this unashamed Islamophobic comment was made, it was reported that Islamophobic incidents rose by 375%.

At the same time as this statement was made, establishing a very different narrative about Muslims, was Egyptian footballer Mohamed Salah who was lacing his boots for the beginning of the 2018-2019 Premier League season. This was the second season in a row he was expected to achieve the title of top scorer, also known as the Golden Boot.

A Stanford University study found that Salah’s presence was fundamental in a decrease of hate crimes in the city of Liverpool by 18.9% as well as a 53% drop of anti-Muslim Tweets amongst Liverpool fans.