Turkish club Trabzonspor files criminal complaint after player is racially abused
Turkish club Trabzonspor says it has filed a criminal complaint against individuals who allegedly racially abused midfielder John Mikel Obi.
The former Chelsea star, who spent 11 years in the Premier League, received the alleged racist abuse online following Trabzonspor’s 2-1 win over Fenerbahce Saturday.
“Racism is a shelter for helpless and ignorant,” the club said in a statement.
“We condemn the racist attacks against our player Obi Mikel after the match against Fenerbahçe and we bring to the public attention that a criminal complaint has been filed against the assailants.”
Mikel’s teammate Joao Pereira wrote on his Instagram account: “It is sad and unacceptable that in 2020 we’re still facing acts of racism and disrespect like this. Football is much bigger than the little people behind these unfortunate acts.”
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Trabzonspor’s win meant it moved above Fenerbahce into third in the Super Lig, the Turkish top division, and just three points off first place with a game in hand.
Sadly, it wasn’t the only incident of racist abuse reported at a football match in Europe over the weekend.
Athletic Bilbao forward Inaki Williams said he was “sad” after suffering alleged racist abuse from some Espanyol fans during Saturday’s La Liga match.
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Williams reported the abuse to his captain Iker Muniain, who then informed the referee Jose Sanchez Martinez. The official, however, made no reference to the incident in his post-match report.
These are just the latest in a long list of racist incidents that have marred European football this season, including in England, Italy and Holland.
