Racist jeers at Russian soccer game renew concerns for 2018 World Cup

An African soccer player competing for a Russian club was punished this week for an obscene gesture he made toward fans of an opposing club who allegedly provoked him with racial taunts, renewing concerns about how black players will be received in Russia when the country hosts the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Fans of the Spartak Moscow club reportedly jeered at Guelor Kanga, a Gabon national and midfielder for the FC Rostov club, during a game on Thursday in Moscow. The fans bellowed ape sounds, frequently used to deride black players as primates.

Insulted, Kanga responded by flipping the fans his middle finger — an act the Russian Football Union (RFU) prohibits. As punishment for the “insulting gesture to fans,” the RFU on Friday fined Kanga $930 and suspended him for three matches.

The RFU also fined the Spartak Moscow club $1,300 for the behavior of its fans, who the governing soccer body said chanted "insulting expressions."

Few, however, were surprised by the fans’ behavior, as Russian soccer has experienced a spate of racist incidents in recent years.

In fact, Igor Gamula – Kanga’s own coach – came under fire for offensive remarks he made in November when asked about rumors that FC Rostov would sign a player from Cameroon. Gamula responded that the team had "enough dark-skinned players, we’ve got six of the things."

In September, Dynamo Moscow defender Christopher Samba – a black Frenchman who also plays for the Congo national team – was suspended for two matches after flipping off fans who heckled him with racial insults.

Artur Grigoryants, head of the RFU’s disciplinary committee, said that in light of fan provocation, Samba was given "the lightest possible punishment." Torpedo Moscow, the opposing club, was also sanctioned for its unruly fans by having part of its stadium shut down during its next game.

Following the incident, Samba responded: “I want to play football and not have to listen to racial taunts.”

More famously, Brazilian superstar Roberto Carlos, while playing for Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala in 2011, had a banana thrown at him – for a second time – by fans.

Carlos walked off the field in protest and has since referred to the offense as a “disgusting incident.”

The year before, fans of Lokomotiv Moscow raised a giant banner displaying a banana to chide Nigerian striker Peter Odemwingie for allegedly not meeting their expectations on the field. However, the club was not sanctioned for the banner, and Alexey Sorokin – then-secretary general of the RFU and CEO of Russia’s 2018 FIFA World Cup bid committee – insisted it was not racist.

“If there would be another player – from Russia, Denmark, Norway or Japan, for example – the reaction could be the same,” Sorokin said. “In Russia ‘to get a banana’ means ‘to fail a test somewhere.’”

His disregard for the banner angered international sports fans, many of who alleged he too held racist beliefs.

Such incidents are particularly concerning to the soccer community given that Russia is slated to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018 — during which players and fans of all races and ethnicities will be present.

Just this week, upon recommendation from its anti-racism task force, FIFA – soccer’s international governing body – said it would train and deploy anti-discrimination officers to be present at World Cup qualifying matches in Russia.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, FIFA said its fight against discrimination would also include a “handbook of good practices” to be distributed to FIFA member associations “to give them guidance on how to foster diversity and anti-discrimination in football in their countries.”

“The Task Force also agreed on the importance of using the 2018 FIFA World Cup as a platform to raise awareness on the issue and showcase FIFA’s zero-tolerance policy against any form of discrimination,” the statement read.

The FIFA statement comes one month after Tokyo Sexwale, an anti-racism adviser to FIFA, told the Associated Press that black players could potentially boycott the 2018 World Cup in Russia over the growing number of racist interactions between fans and players, and pushed Russian President Vladimir Putin to do something about the problem. 

"Once these things start and you don't act as leaders, these things snowball,” Sexwale said. "Show that leadership, be the Putin the world knows, be tough. Failure to do so, we could be talking something different about the 2018 World Cup ... you will have people saying they will not go to Russia."