February 13 – The Greek football union have joined a chorus of condemnation over the racist abuse of Aris Thessaloniki’s young French midfielder Abou Ba during a top-flight fixture at Larissa on Saturday.
The group called for a lifetime stadium ban for those who took part in racist chanting directed at Ba, who came on as a late substitute in the stalemate and tried to leave the field in protest before being stopped by officials.
“We don’t want racists at the venues. You have no place among us, and your perceptions offend human dignity,” the group said in a statement. “Stay away from us and the sport we love so much.”
Former Under-18 and Under-20 France international Ba is on loan at Aris from Ligue 1 side Nantes, and his teammate and countryman Nicolas Diguiny was furious about the incident after the match.
“It’s a disgrace what happened in Larissa and I want to believe that what happened does not represent the whole city and Greek football,” he said.
Larissa said in a statement the “unacceptable behaviour of two or three people who we consider trash against Ba has defamed our support”.
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