Silenced, condemned, and redirected: How racism in Chinese football is discursively negotiated on social media

Drawing on Critical Race Theory and critical discourse analysis, this study examines how racism in Chinese football is silenced, condemned, and rearticulated on Chinese social media. The analysis identifies three nodal points that structure the online negotiation of racism. First, racist incidents are frequently downplayed by clubs, players, and supporters by reframing them as miscommunication or routine sporting conflict, normalizing racialized expressions as part of acceptable sporting discourse. Second, other actors—including clubs positioned as victims, state-affiliated media, and morally engaged fans—condemn discriminatory practices and call for stronger institutional accountability, framing racism as a violation of sporting ethics and social norms. Third, discussions are often redirected toward regional prejudice and xenophobic resentment, revealing how racial discourse is displaced and rearticulated through other forms of social differentiation and tension, including memetic and vernacular expressions on social media. Together, these dynamics demonstrate that racism in Chinese football is simultaneously obscured and reproduced through platform-mediated discourse, contributing to a de-Westernizing perspective on racism in global sport.