Erving Botaka-Yobama was only part of the Torpedo Moscow soccer team for six days before his contract was voided because of what many believe to be racist dissent from fans.
The 19-year-old player, who signed with the team on July 14, was born in Russia and is of Congolese descent. The racial harassment directed at Botaka-Yobama mainly took place online reports The Washington Post.
“There may be black in our team’s colors, but there is only white in our supporter’s ranks,” the group Zapad-5 Ultras wrote on VK, a Russian social media site similar to Facebook.
Another user went farther by threatening the player, posting: “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.”
The Torpedos deny coercion from racist fans, claiming the contract break was due to Botaka-Yobama’s previous team demanding a transfer fee they were not willing to pay.
“There is no ‘skin color’ in our criteria,” Torpedo’s owner, Roman Avdeyev, told sportfm.ru. “We never noticed it and will never notice it.”
However, according to The Washington Post, this is not the first time fans have exercised racist behavior for their beloved team. In 2014, fans made monkey sounds and directed the noise at minority players on opposing teams.
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