What Racism and Football Have in Common

Ai assisted article. 

Racism isn't always hateful. In many cases, hate crime aside, it's probably in your DNA and not just a social construct, whether you realise it or not.

'At the heart of both racism and football fandom lies a fundamental human impulse: tribalism. This tendency is deeply ingrained in our psychology, likely a product of evolutionary pressures that favored cohesive in-groups over disorganized collectives.

 Social scientists have long studied these dynamics, and the evidence is clear—humans instinctively categorize, sort, and defend their perceived tribes.

When I first encountered a proposal to build a housing estate specifically for black people during my studies with the Open University, my immediate reaction was one of frustration. It seemed to me like an act of segregation rather than an effort toward integration and equality. But over time, I’ve come to appreciate the underlying motivation: people need identity. They seek belonging. And in many cases, they will create social structures—whether neighborhoods, sports affiliations, or even racial identities—to reinforce that belonging.

This is where football, or any passionate group identity, mirrors the logic of racial categorization.

 Supporting a club provides a sense of unity and security, a way of organizing the chaos of human interaction into something more predictable. This is not inherently wrong; in fact, it is an essential part of human nature. But the darker side of tribalism emerges when these instincts morph into exclusion, hostility, and dehumanization.

We should be honest about the fact that race-based identification is not necessarily rooted in malice and people ought be free to identify themselves and their tribes. 

Our brains are wired to make immediate judgments based on visible characteristics—skin color, facial structure, or other physical cues. 

This isn’t a moral failing; *it’s a cognitive shortcut* 

The problem arises when these natural distinctions harden into ideological divisions, when ‘my tribe’ becomes inherently superior to ‘yours,’ and when harmless differentiation turns into contempt.

The challenge, then, is not to pretend that tribal impulses don’t exist but to manage them wisely, accepting and respecting differences is surely key?

 Hate crimes, discrimination, and harassment are rightly condemned and require firm legal and social remedies.

 But we also need a level-headed approach to the human need for belonging, recognizing that the drive to form groups—even around race—is part of our biological inheritance. 

The goal should not be to erase these instincts but to ensure that they do not lead us to irrational, destructive, or unjust outcomes.

After all, if we fail to acknowledge the realities of human psychology, we risk allowing its most dangerous tendencies to flourish unchecked.