Yahoo Finance Shakhtar's Taison given red card after being subjected to racist abuse vs. Dynamo Kiev
It’s another weekend of soccer, which means more incidents of racism around the sporting landscape. This time it was in Ukraine between Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kiev. And the player who was targeted by the racism was given a red card and sent off the pitch.
Shakhtar and Brazilian midfielder Taison gave Dynamo fans the middle finger in the 77th minute and kicked the ball at them. According to the BBC, the players were all taken off the pitch and when they returned, Taison was given a red card for the action. He was sent off the pitch for the rest of the match.
Znowu rasistowski skandal na Ukrainie. Taison nie wytrzymał, pokazał faka i wykopał piłkę w kierunku sektora Dynama. Sędzia kazał opuścić boisko obu drużynom. Taison dostał cz. kartkę.
Ofensas racistas da torcida do Dynamo de Kiev contra jogadores do Shakhtar, Taison e Dentinho. pic.twitter.com/WLM1hR462K— Kamil Rogólski (@K_Rogolski) November 10, 2019
The removal of all players was part of the UEFA protocol, per Reuters. The next step would have been to abandon the match. Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) told Reuters:
"Third step not activated, victim of racism sent off," said FARE, which added that Dynamo fans also mocked a club campaign by displaying posters which said "Like to Racism."
A graphic from Dinamo fans mocking a club campaign. “Like to Racism” it says.
In 2015 #Kiev were sanctioned by UEFA for an awful physical attack on African fans at a Champions League match against Chelsea. Since then ‘Say no to racism’ has replaced a sponsor on match-day shirts. pic.twitter.com/y830c3V9K8— Fare (@farenet) November 10, 2019
Shakhtar currently leads the Ukrainian Premiere League and also plays in the Champions League. The club said fellow Brazilian Dentinho was also targeted and Dynamo fans were warned, per BBC. The two were emotional leaving the pitch.
One week after Balotelli, it’s Taison who gets racially abused and kicks ball into stands. Except he also gets sent off. https://t.co/uUV3PjOMBI
— Gabriele Marcotti (@Marcotti) November 10, 2019
A similar incident occurred last weekend in Serie A in Italy when Brescia striker Mario Balotelli was subjected to racist abuse and kicked the ball into the stands out of frustration during game play. A ref pulled out a yellow card, but did not issue it, and the player was consoled by teammates and opponents on the field.
Shakhtar released a statement via the BBC calling the behavior “unacceptable in any civilized countries and football leagues.”
"Such humiliating accidents cause pain and disappointment to the large football family of FC Shakhtar. We condemn this kind of behaviour of the audience, we will always voice the support and protect our players. We are calling on football authorities and clubs to stop racism in the stadiums."
The Dynamo club tweeted after the game, “Football is not a place of racism #NoToRacism.”
Players and fans have asked for more serious sanctions so that clubs take racism at their stadiums seriously. Megan Rapinoe called the current small fines “an absolute joke.”
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