Russian Football Union Bans Player for Reacting to Racial Abuse
Gabonese midfielder Guelor Kanga was targeted with monkey chants by Spartak Moscow fans in the Russian Premier League on Thursday, and responded by showing them his middle finger.
The Russian Football Union has banned a player for three matches for showing an offensive gesture to fans who racially abused him.
Gabonese midfielder Guelor Kanga was targeted with monkey chants by Spartak Moscow fans in the Russian Premier League on Thursday, and responded by showing them his middle finger.
In addition to a three-match ban, Kanga was fined 50,000 rubles ($930) for the "insulting gesture to fans," the RFU said.
Spartak was fined 70,000 rubles ($1,300) for "the chanting by fans of insulting expressions," a charge which usually refers to swearing, rather than the separate offense of racist chanting.
In September, Dynamo Moscow's Congolese defender, Christopher Samba, was given a two-match ban in similar circumstances after Russian fans racially abused him.