Racism scandal rocks Russia ahead of 2018 football World Cup
A new racism scandal has rocked Russian football in the run-up to the World Cup – and anxious Moscow authorities are taking it seriously. The idea of fans targeting black players with monkey chants is haunting Russian football chiefs heading into the June 14 to July 15 celebration of the ‘beautiful game’.
But racism reared its ugly head on Tuesday when French players Ousmane Dembele and Paul Pogba were targeted during France’s 3-1 friendly victory over Russia in Saint Petersburg. An AFP photographer heard imitation ape noises aimed at Barcelona forward Dembele, while internet users reported similar abuse from sections of the 50,000 crowd targeting Manchester United’s star Pogba.
Russia’s history of all forms of discrimination stretches back to its Soviet era and is rarely tackled head on. Critics say it is only being fomented by a mix of nationalist and socially conservative Kremlin ideology that at times borders on xenophobia. Lebedev further appealed to Russians’ sense of patriotism and pride in “our nation’s prestige”.
Racism is especially closely associated with football because of the right-wing hooligans and club “ultras” attracted to the game. The scourge swept across Europe and was especially severe in countries such as England and Italy between the 1970s and 1990s.
This hatred spilled onto Russian football stadiums in the last two decades as clubs began signing African and Latin American players. One of the starkest episodes saw Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos walk off the pitch in disgust after a banana was thrown his way in 2011.
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