Football Club Could Segregate Black Fans From White Fans

An official from the Ukrainian club revealed the proposal after claims of racial abuse during a match against Chelsea last week.

Champions League football club Dynamo Kiev are considering segregating fans based on the colour of their skin.

Dmitry Korotayev / Getty Images

The Ukrainian club's fans been involved in two high-profile incidences of racial abuse in European competition this year, and their "Ultras Faction" often clashes with police and with fans of rival clubs.

The club hosted Premier League side Chelsea in the Champions League group stage last week, where footage appeared to show four black Kiev fans being racially abused by some of the club's white fans.

youtube.com

Dynamo Kiev's stadium director, Volodimir Spilchenko, has responded to the incident by suggesting non-white fans might be segregated from the rest of the club's crowd in order to try and avoid such incidents.

"We are trying, maybe, to make a separate sector [for black fans] in an attempt to avoid racism," he said in a press conference.

Stringer / AFP / Getty Images

His remark came in response to a question from a journalist about the latest controversy surrounding the club.

But racism in Ukrainian football is not just limited to the stands. Some black fans have complained of suffering abuse around the stadium, and in Kiev's city centre.

Racism has a long and ugly history in Ukrainian football. Dynamo were fined €15,000 in March of this year after their fans subjected Everton players to racist abuse in the Europa League.

Sergei Supinsky / AFP / Getty Images

Dynamo won that match, but in their subsequent Europa League tie against Fiorentina the club were forced by UEFA to close sections of their stadium.

In 2012, ahead of the Euro championships in Poland and Ukraine, former England footballer Sol Campbell warned black fans to stay at home rather than support England in Ukraine.

Paul Barker / AFP / Getty Images

The BBC also aired a documentary ahead of the tournament showing openly racist supporters of Ukrainian club teams chanting abuse while police stood by.

In September 2016, Ukraine will be forced to play their opening World Cup-qualifying match against Iceland in an empty stadium after their fans were found to have chanted racist abuse during a match against San Marino in 2014.

Sergei Supinsky / AFP / Getty Images