It's hard to believe, but the Brazilian Hulk became the first black footballer purchased by St. Petersburg's "Zenit" club just two years ago, and the club's decision sparked protests from the team's fans in the 21st century. Russia is the host of the 2018 World Cup, but the racism problem in the country's football is huge - as shown by the latest FIFA study, reported by the BBC.
After a study conducted last year, FIFA clearly stated that the level of racism in Russia is "completely unacceptable" for a country hosting the World Cup.
Russia's SOVA centre, which fights against racism and discrimination, and FIFA's report noted that in the past two years there have been over 200 incidents related to racism in Russian football.
The FIFA committee working on discrimination in football sent a clear message to Russian President Vladimir Putin - the country's attitude towards racism in sports must change.
"Racism is a topic that occupies a very high place on my agenda every day. If it continues, we will have to take sanctions," said FIFA President Sepp Blatter.
Racism - a part of identity?
When in 2012 the "Zenit" club acquired Brazilian football star Hulk from "Porto" for 40 million euros, the second city's fans staged protests.
For football fans, this seemed completely normal, although they understood that protesting against the newcomer's skin color was not allowed. Instead, fans claimed that "Zenit" management was neglecting the club's traditions and Hulk would ruin the team's "identity" in St. Petersburg.
In the November 1, 2014 match between CSKA and "Zenit" in Moscow, during almost all matches, fans of both teams greeted black players with derogatory chants. Each time a black player received the ball, from some fans monkey imitating sounds could be heard, drowning out the entire stadium noise.
"The same thing happens every time, and rival fans are the ones doing it. This happens because of lack of culture. If this happens during the World Cup, it will be a big problem," said Hulk, as reported by the BBC.
Even CSKA club, where black players are not such a rarity, fans behave in the same way. They don't care that black players Vagner Love and Seydou Doumbia are some of the most prolific players in the club's history.
"My team will get ebola"
This season, after a match with "Torpedo," Dynamo Moscow defender Christopher Samba publicly criticized the racist behavior of the latter's fans, but for his public criticism, he was personally punished with a two-match disqualification. Due to the same incident, the "Torpedo" team had to play one match without spectators.
Another scandal involved "Rostov" club coach Igor Gamula. When asked if the team really planned to sign a player from Cameroon, he replied that he already had "enough" of them.
I.Gamula hinted that his players could die from Ebola, when several players simply got sick. Only when these remarks reached the international media, I.Gomula was punished - disqualified for five matches.
Although "Rostov," the city where the World Cup is set to take place, apologized for the incident, he insists that he was just joking and misunderstood.
I. Gamula's view on this racism issue as a joke perfectly reflects the fans' understanding. For supporters, mimicking monkey sounds is just part of chanting. It does not matter that racist behavior in Russian stadiums has been beyond the law for years.
Sports officials only started seeing the problem now
When the international community condemns Russia for the war with Ukraine and threatens to boycott the 2018 World Cup, the authorities finally opened their eyes and realized that they need to deal with another problem - racism. However, sports heads deny that Russia's situation is something exceptional.
"There are problems everywhere, but I do not think that they are bigger in Russia. Sometimes fans chant racist slogans, but we take measures. We have many black players, so I do not see a big problem," said Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, as reported by the BBC.
A law on hooliganism will be passed in December 2013, which includes strict penalties for any hatred, including racism, displayed in sports. The penalty can range up to 15 days of imprisonment, 7 years of stadium disqualification, and fines.
As reported by the BBC, although after C. Samba's complaint "Torpedo" had to play matches behind closed doors, police and security did not pay attention to fans' racism during CSKA and "Zenit" matches.
The authority only recently began combating racism. Barely five years ago, no one cared. The fact that something is being done is already progress," said SOVA representative Alexander Verkhovsky.
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