Moscow: Russian Premier League club Anzhi Makhachkala have complained about bigoted comments from CSKA Moscow fans during a Russian Premier League match between the teams on Saturday.
“The chants from the CSKA fans were insulting towards our club and the fans as they were expressing hostility on the basis of one’s nationality,” Anzhi said in a statement on their website (www.fc-anji.ru) on Sunday.
“They did not only insult Anzhi, but also the whole of the Caucasus region, which for centuries has been used to living as a peaceful multi-national family,” added the statement by the club’s general director Sergei Korablev.
CSKA won the game 1-0 and, along with Zenit St Petersburg, lead the Premier League with nine points from three games.
Anzhi have lost their first three games since being promoted back to the top flight this season.
“We want the footballing authorities, as well as the law enforcement agencies, to open an investigation concerning the actions of the fans at the Arena Khimki,” Anzhi added.
The club is situated in the south of Russia in the Republic of Dagestan. A high level of tension on ethnic and religious grounds characterises the region.
In October 2014, CSKA were forced to play three home Champions League matches behind closed doors and were fined €200,000 (Dh14 million) by Uefa and banned from bringing away fans to two games in Europe’s elite club competition.
Sunday’s incident was the latest to blight Russian football ahead of the country hosting the 2018 World Cup.
Torpedo Moscow were punished three times last season for racist chants directed at black players.
Ufa’s Ghanaian midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong was sent off after reacting angrily to racist abuse from Spartak Moscow fans during the first match of the season.
World cup organisers responded quickly.
“Russia 2018 LOC condemns racism and discrimination in all its forms... We are confident that the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia, in particular, can act as a catalyst to positively change the mindset and behaviour for all members of football community over the next three years,” they said in a statement.
