May 15 – After a season in which his club has been at the forefront of a series of racist incidents, the president of Torpedo Moscow, instead of apologising, has indulged in an outrageous piece of self-denial.
Alexander Tukmanov told Reuters the issue has been blown up out of proportion and represented isolated episodes and misunderstandings despite a number of sanctions.
Dubbed Russia’s most aggressive club, the racist behaviour of Torpedo fans has become almost de rigueur. In April Torpedo were found guilty of racism for the fourth time and were ordered to play two more home games behind closed doors.
The club have been fined one million rubles in total but none of the sanctions appear to be doing much good despite persistent platitudes from the Russian authorities that they are tackling the issue head-on. Tukmanov said: “We have had a misunderstanding with a group of people who call themselves Torpedo supporters.
“We asked them on a number of occasions if they wanted to attend a meeting with us to discuss the problems. But they believe that the team and the directors exist separately.
“I do not think that racism is a massive occurrence in our football. I would call these isolated incidents,” said Tukmanov, who was general director of the RFS from 1998 until 2005.
“I cannot say with 100 percent certainty that in the near future the situation will change for the better, but we are working towards this.”
With three matches of the season remaining, Torpedo, three times Russian champions in the 1960s and 70s, are bottom of the table. Their players have not been paid for around five months, according to media reports.
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