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KIEV (AFP) –
Ukraine’s national football team head coach Oleg Blokhin attends a training session in Kiev on June 7. Blokhin waded into the debate on racism in football on Sunday by insisting that “there is no racism in Ukraine.”
The coach of Euro 2012 co-hosts Ukraine, Oleg Blokhin, waded into the debate on racism in football on Sunday by insisting that “there is no racism in Ukraine.”
Blokhin interrupted a reporter who asked him about the issue in English, removed his headphones and said “I don’t want to talk about racism – there is no racism in Ukraine. These are political issues which have nothing to do with football.
“If there are incidents they won’t be in Ukraine,” the 1975 European footballer of the year insisted.
The racism issue has reared its head in fellow co-host nation Poland with supporters directing monkey chants at black Dutch players training in Krakow.
A Polish-based anti-racism organisation also said Saturday that Russian fans subjected Ethiopian-Czech player Theo Gebre Selassie to racial abuse in Friday’s encounter with the Czech Republic.
