© EuroFootball.com
Trying to host the 2018 World Cup, Russia defends itself against accusations that racism is deeply rooted in this country.
The head of the committee seeking to host the championships, Alexei Sorokin, insisted that the banner held by fans of the Moscow "Lokomotiv" club with a drawing of a banana and the inscription "Thank you 'West Brom'" was not mocking the Nigerian Peter Odemwingie.
Sorokin defended that in Russia, the phrase "to receive a banana" means "to face a challenge." Odemwingie himself, who recently moved to the English team "West Brom", had no doubts that it was a racist attack against him.
"The Russian Football Federation does not tolerate racism," Sorokin told the BBC. "I know that this banner was directed against one of the players because of his recent performances."
"It seems that the fans did not like the fact that he played much better for the Nigerian national team than for his club. Therefore, they expressed satisfaction that the player left, and there is no racism here.
"If it were any other player - from Russia, Denmark, Norway or Japan, the reaction would be the same."
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