Racist Football Fans Mock Gambian Player With Monkey Noises
The premier league football season got off to a shocking start at the Sportland Arena on Saturday when FC Levadia fans shouted racist monkey sounds at a black football player.
Gambian national Yankuba Ceesay, a midfielder who recently signed with FC Nõmme Kalju, was switched in at the beginning of the second half, after which Levadia fans erupted with offensive animal noises during the 65th and 73rd minutes. Fans also let off illegal fireworks at the game.
The disciplinary committee of the National Football Association will review the incident on Thursday.
The press representative of Levadia, Indrek Petersoo, told sport.err.ee that he had been in the crowd and had witnessed the detestable situation from up close.
“On behalf of Levadia, there is nothing more to be said than that we are truly ashamed of the actions of this group of people,“ said Petersoo. “Such hooliganism is harmful for the football club. We spoke to some of the fans before the season began to make understood the actions that are and are not acceptable in the stadium.”
He continued, “It was sad to see that this was not made clear. On our behalf, we would like to apologize to the Nõmme Kalju player who was defintely insulted. We will do everything we can to see to it that such incidents are not repeated in the future.”
Petersoo said Levadia would take disciplinary measures against the offending fans.
Ott Tammik