By Andrew Warshaw
September 21 – Despite a string of examples of racism in Russian football and resultant sanctions by the game’s authorities, former national team captain Alexei Smertin (pictured) insists it is not an issue in his country.
Earlier this year, the anti-discrimination group FARE documented over 100 instances of racist and discriminatory behaviour linked to Russian football over two seasons.
But Smertin told the BBC’s World Football programme: “There’s no racism in Russia, because it does not exist.”
Last Friday, Russia marked 1,000 days until the start of the 2018 World Cup amid fears the tournament may be tarnished by discrimination. But Smertin, a World Cup ambassador, said fans only abuse players because of who they play for – not their colour of their skin. “It is something against the opposition, not against a person,” he said.
Smertin dismissed behaviour that many might consider racist and suggested none of it was intentionally offensive.
“Racism in Russia is like fashion. It comes from abroad, from different countries,” he said. “It was never, ever here before. Ten years ago, some fans may have given a banana to black guys – it was just for fun. I think the media is making the wrong image of Russia.”
But former Cameroon international Andre Bikey, who played in Russia from 2005 to 2006, couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “He says there is no racism in Russia. Racism is everywhere,” the former Lokomotiv Moscow defender was quoted as saying. “It happened to me, it happened to my team-mates – we have to fight against it, especially with the World Cup going there in three years’ time.”
Brazilian international striker Hulk, currently on the books of Zenit St Petersburg, recently declared that racism happens at “almost every game” in the Russian league.
In the first game of the current Russian season, Ghanaian midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong was sent off for reacting to what he claimed was racial abuse towards him.
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