Russian third division side Torpedo Moscow deny claims they have cancelled defender Erving Botaka-Yobama’s contract because he is black. Fans protested after the club announced they had signed Botaka-Yobama, who is of Russian and Congolese descent, last Saturday.
Torpedo insist the deal for the 19-year-old, a former youth player at the club, was called off due to financial reasons.”Skin colour is never a criterion when selecting a player,” the Russian club said in a statement.”Racism has no right to exist. We adhere to this point of view.”
Torpedo have said that rivals and the selling club Lokomotiv-Kazanka Moscow were demanding a transfer fee – causing the deal to collapse. Earlier in the week, a group of fans known as the Zapad-5 Ultras wrote on Russian social media site Vkontakte: “Black may be one of our club’s colours, but we only want whites in our ranks.”
And another menacingly wrote: “Since you consider it acceptable to come into our home and our family without regard for our rules and traditions, we reserve that same right. “We will see who comes out on top.” When the protests were first made, Torpedo owner Roman Avdeyev blasted the racist fans and said: “There is no ‘skin colour’ in our criteria. We’ve never noticed it and will never notice it.”
Head of the All-Russian Union of Footballers Alexander Zotov criticised those comments, adding that they do not represent all supporters in the country.
He said: “There have been changes in the minds of people after the World Cup but there is still a group of idiots.I read a lot of statements about the football player. Some were openly racist. These people with limited horizons exist in any country. We saw how open our society and people are [during the World Cup]. There are fans of Torpedo who are normal, and do not welcome the behaviour of that group in relation to Botaka.”
The defender’s capture sparked huge protests from bigoted supporters who posted threatening messages and demanded a “white-only” side.And just a week after the eyes of the globe were on Russia 2018, the second division club have caved in to the pressure and announced the 19-year-old will no longer be playing for them.Torpedo Moscow president Elena Yelentseva has announced that new signing Erving Botaka-Yoboma, who joined the club only six days ago, will not play for the team after fans publicly denounced the signing of a black player.
The defender was born and raised in Russia of African descent. One fans’ group, who call themselves the Zapad-5 Ultras, wrote on Russian social media site Vkontakte: “Black may be one of our club’s colours, but we only want whites in our ranks.”
Later fans also expressed displeasure at the fact that Botaka-Yoboma had previously turned out for a rival club, Russian champions Lokomotiv Moscow.
This is not the first time Russian fans have criticised the signing of non-white players. In 2012 supporters of Zenit St Petersburg issued an open letter to club management calling for black players to be excluded from the team following the high-profile double signing of Belgium international Axel Witsel and Brazil international Hulk.
As it happens, Torpedo have previously fielded an African player – in fact, Nigeria international Augustine Eguavoen became the first black footballer to ever play in Russia when he made his debut for the club in 1997.