Ghana FA has angrily hit out at Russian club UFA for criticizing their Ghanaian midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong when he was racially abused during their league match on Friday implying their action will encourage the racial abuse of black footballers in Russia.
The Ghanaian federation says the act of offering support to Russian side Spartak Moscow when their fans made monkey chants at Black Stars midfielder Frimpong shows they are not ready to fight racism in the sport.
UFA shockingly revealed on Friday that they won’t be backing Frimpong by calling for rivals Spartak Moscow to be punished even though he was racially abused by fans of the giants.
Former Arsenal player Frimpong was sent off playing for Russian side FC Ufa after he gestured to the crowd with his middle finger in response to the monkey chants.
The midfielder, 23, was playing away to Spartak Moscow in the opening game of the Russian Premier League season.
However, Ufa general director Shamil Gazizov said his club would not be calling for Spartak to be punished, describing it as an “unfortunate incident†insisting they are friends of the Moscow club.
This has prompted the GFA to hit out at the club UFA says their actions towards the abuse suffered by Frimpong will only encourage fans to racially abuse black and African footballers in Russia.
"While we do not condone Frimpong's reaction to the racist abuse he suffered, it beats our imagination that his club UFA criticised the Ghanaian player without condemning the Spartak Moscow supporters who provoked him with this despicable racist abuse," the Ghana FA statement read.
"The act of singling out Frimpong for criticism, when he was clearly provoked by these money chants while the perpetrators of the act have been let off, indelibly stains football's tenets and principles.
"Such actions only serve as ammunition to the perpetrators of this crime to return to the stadia to subject black and African footballers to more racist abuse."
Shockingly his club UFA won’t be standing up for their Ghanaian player who was at the end of the racist abuse which seems to have prompted the Ghana FA to fight the corner of their international midfielder.
“There were people who could have shouted things. These are emotions which go away after the game. We are partners with the red and whites and are on good terms,†Gazizov said.
“What Frimpong did was wrong. Sometimes you even have to hold back the tears and just put up with it.â€
Russia hosts the next World Cup in 2018, and Frimpong added: “Abused… and yet we going to hold a World Cup in this country where Africans will have to come play football.â€
Manchester City and Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure, who has been racially abused while playing in Russia in the Champions League, has previously said black players might boycott the World Cup unless the country tackles racism in football.
Last season, Torpedo Moscow’s Congolese defender Christopher Samba was banned for two matches for gesturing to fans following racist abuse.
There have been more than 200 cases of discriminatory behaviour linked to Russian football over the past two seasons.
But in March former head of Russian football Vyacheslav Koloskov said too much is made of racism in the country and has also questioned why monkey chants are assumed to be racist.