September 29 – Another accusation of racial abuse by Russian fans has been made – this time by Liverpool who have made an official complaint to UEFA after claiming one of their youth players was targeted.
Bobby Adekanye was allegedly subjected to racist chanting when he came on in the 60th minute of Tuesday’s youth league match at the Spartak academy and later when he retrieved a ball that had gone out of play.
The Nigeria-born winger joined the club from Barcelona in 2015 and Alex Inglethorpe, Liverpool’s academy director, who attended the game, was reported by the British media to have complained to UEFA.
The senior Champions League game between Liverpool and Spartak Moscow could also land the hosts in trouble.
After their first group game against Maribor, Spartak were charged by UEFA after supporters set off a flare which narrowly avoided the referee.
Spartak have now been charged once again after fans criticised European football’s governing body with a banner that read ‘UEFA Mafia’ during the Liverpool game. They also set off smoke bombs.
In a poor attempt to deflect attention away from the conduct of his country’s own fans, the head of Russia Football Union’s Security Committee has blamed visiting media for the accusations against Russian clubs.
“They sometimes come with the only purpose to report dirty stories,” Vladimir Markin was quoted as saying. “It is impossible to see something for real if one comes to work with a beam in his or her own eyes.”
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