November 27 – In what has become an almost routine ritual in Russia, Torpedo Moscow have once again been sanctioned for racism by fans, with its stadium ordered to be partly closed for three games.
Sections of the home support shouted monkey chants at FC Rostov players during Torpedo’s 2-1 win in a Russian Premier League clash last weekend.
“Due to the offensive chants by Torpedo’s supporters, which were directed towards their opponents’ players due to their ethnicity and the colour of their skin, part of the club’s stadium where their most vocal fans sit will be closed for three matches,” the Russian Football Union announced on their website.
In September, Torpedo were also punished for racist chants directed at Dynamo Moscow’s Christopher Samba. That time, they were handed a one-match partial stadium closure.
“We used all the material that was provided, listened to all the audio and watched all the video where we clearly heard monkey chants,” the head of Russian football’ss Disciplinary Committee Artur Grigoryants told reporters.
“We are going to tackle racism in football and we are not going to close our eyes to this problem. We must identify and punish hooligans. I hope that members of the various law and order bodies will be more active in the future.”
Laughably, however. the ruling may not have much practical effect since Torpedo’s crowds have been as low as 1,700.
Ironically Rostov coach Igor Gamula was barred from Saturday’s game after widely publicised comments about not signing black players for which he received a five-game ban.
Only a few days ago, the man who ran the 2010 World Cup in South Africa says 2018 hosts Russia must crack down harder on racism to show the world it is taking the issue seriously. Danny Jordaan, the public face of the 2010 World Cup whose country spent out an arduous and painful battle against apartheid, said dealing with racism in Russia is long overdue.
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