A/HRC/31/74 message becomes part of the sport’s DNA); messages needed to target individual perpetrators; clubs and football associations needed to encourage fans to speak up and report incidents; and positive developments and actions needed to be supported (such actions were however, seldom reported); and cooperation with local civil society. 150. She also introduced some fan projects which existed in a number of European countries and enabled long term cooperation with football fans in order to create a positive fan culture. She added that Supporter Liaison Officers (SLOs) were also a successful tool (and part of UEFA’s licensing criteria, for example). Concluding she said that there needed to be clear national action plans against discrimination in sports (and society); sanctions should be directed against individuals; the focus of the strategies should be on prevention; community schemes should be introduced on club level; national funds that could fund grassroots projects against discrimination should be established; and diversity within the stadium should be promoted; and inclusive infrastructure in stadia should be provided. 151. The representative of Argentina made a statement emphasizing the importance of taking action in stadia. The Instituto Nacional contra la Discriminación, la Xenofobia y el Racismo (INADI) worked in Argentina on that subject and furthered mechanisms that promoted diversity. INADI also observed behaviour in stadia and addressed discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of race and sexual orientation, in football. 152. Des Tomlinson, of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), introduced the intercultural football programme of the FAI. He noted the social potential of sport from enhancing the social good to its potential in addressing social divisions. Football could play a role, however partnership with other actors was needed to address social issues. 153. Mr. Tomlinson briefed the committee on the social environment in Ireland and the fact that its cultural landscape had evolved. The European Union Commission developed a policy paper on sport and its role in integration. In 2006 the intercultural football plan was developed in order to compliment state policy objectives (integration, antiracism etc.) The objectives of the intercultural strategy were: to promote participation; to challenge racism in football and beyond; and to support the process of integration. Based on those objectives the FAI developed a number of core programmes. 154. Mr. Tomlinson then explained the anti-racism rules and protocols of FAI and pointed to the various tools that could be used to support clubs (guidance, assistance for referees etc.). Referees cold use Law 5 mechanisms to stop, temporarily suspend or abandon matches. He also briefed the committee on the various forms of incidents, such as player to player incidents and the range of sanctions applied. The national league furthered anti-discrimination by emphasising intercultural football standards. It was important, Mr Tomlinson noted, that the UEFA 10 point plan became part of the licensing scheme. Match observers were also used on match days. Mr. Tomlinson further touched upon grass root movements, education, the FARE football week and the FAI’s integration work. Mr. Tomlinson finally made a number of recommendations that were contained in his power point presentation that can be found online. 155. The representative of Ghana requested that experts give their perspective on the impact their respective policies and initiatives have had on the ground. Mr. Tomlinson responded that a good measurement of impact of the FAI initiatives was the decreasing number of incidents recorded following implementation. Ms. Wurbs stated that there needed to be supporting structures in order for a supporter not to be seen as a problem. Where there were structures (such as in the FSE best practise examples) in place, one could see positive results. Mr. Dembowski stated that the most important impact was that all football federations started to understand that the issue of discrimination needed to be addressed, and he believed that there was significant progress being made in this regard. 46