Racist behavior by soccer fans in Russia is damaging the country’s attempts to seek international respect for the increasingly big money domestic game ahead of its hosting of the 2018 World Cup.
A supporters’ group for Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg provoked outrage this month by publicly urging the club not to sign any black players. Yet officials and clubs seem reluctant to acknowledge the scale of the problem.
The Russian Premier League has in recent seasons seen an unprecedented influx of foreign talent — often from Africa or South America — that has sharply raised its profile abroad.
However, in scenes reminiscent of Britain in the 1970s, players from Africa and South America still face monkey chants and brandishing of bananas.
“Whenever we played Zenit and Spartak Moscow, they were constantly shouting ‘ooh, ooh.’ They were comparing me to a monkey,” Liberian midfielder Sekou Oliseh, who plays for CSKA Moscow, told Sport Express.
Hardcore “Ultras” openly take part in an annual nationalist march, although this year the Russian Football Union urged fans not to go.
This month, Zenit fan group Landskrona asked the club not to sign black or gay players or those from South America, apparently referring to star Brazilian striker Hulk and Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel, whose father originated from Martinique.
“We make our player selections without any limitation regarding origin, religion or skin color,” Zenit director of sports Dietmar Beiersdorfer has insisted.
Yury Fedotov, head of Zenit’s security service, reacted angrily when asked if racism was a problem.
“I categorically reject the message that racism is in any way characteristic of Zenit,” he told reporters, criticizing the media for blowing out of proportion the opinion of “a small group of fans.”
However, many felt officials did not go far enough.
“The manifesto is just another proof of complete anarchy in Russian football,” wrote a commentator in liberal business daily Vedomosti. “Fans are openly declaring the racial purity of their club, and the leaders of the Russian Football Union and the Russian Football Premier League don’t even make a statement.”
Anzhi Makhachkala defender Christopher Samba, who is black, told BBC Five live radio: “Everybody knows Zenit supporters are no good and racist.”
Home runs are greeted with a celebratory shot of espresso and the donning of an Armani jacket. Victories are marked with bottles of red wine while the soaring voice of opera singer Andrea Bocelli echoes through the locker room. Welcome to baseball, Italian-style. Written off as 80-1 underdogs before the World Baseball Classic started, Italy’s fairytale tournament has carried them all the way to today’s (Taipei time) semi-finals in Miami against Venezuela. On Saturday, Italy — who scored a stunning upset of a star-studded US lineup during the pool phase — kept their unbeaten campaign alive with a nail-biting 8-6
Jannik Sinner on Sunday beat Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells final 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4), winning seven straight points to rally from a 4-0 deficit in the second-set tiebreak and claim the title without dropping a single set. The No. 2-ranked Italian beat Medvedev for the ninth time in their last 10 matches to claim his first title at the California desert tournament. Medvedev handed top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz his first loss of the year in the semi-finals of the BNP Paribas Open. Sinner congratulated fellow Italian Kimi Antonelli, who won Formula One’s Chinese Grand Prix earlier on Sunday. “It
Luka Doncic on Monday scored 36 points as the in-form Los Angeles Lakers powered to their sixth straight victory with a 100-92 defeat of the Houston Rockets. A crucial showdown between the third and fourth-ranked NBA Western Conference teams ended with the Lakers pulling away in the final minute of the fourth quarter to claim an impressive win on the road. The victory gives the Lakers (43-25) a valuable cushion over the Rockets (41-26) as they jostle for post-season positions in the West. Doncic was once again instrumental in dragging the Lakers over the line while a hard-nosed defensive effort
THRILLING GAME: The loaded US roster featuring Paul Skenes, Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge reached their third straight WBC final game, after 2017 and 2023 Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony on Sunday homered, and the US limited the Dominican Republic’s electric offense to win a thrilling semi-final 2-1 and move one win from capturing their second World Baseball Classic (WBC) championship. The loaded US roster led by NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes and featuring stars Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge reached their third straight WBC title game after winning in 2017 and falling to Shohei Ohtani and Japan in 2023. The US are to face the winner of this morning’s (Taiwan time) semi-final between Italy and Venezuela a day later. The Dominicans reached
RSS