Emmanuel Frimpong Banned 2 Matches as Russian FA Rejects Racism Claims

The Russian Football Union have banned Ufa’s Emmanuel Frimpong for two games, rejecting claims that he was racially abused by the supporters of Spartak Moscow.

Frimpong, a former Arsenal player, was hit with a two-game suspension after he was sent off in the match between the two sides. The midfielder raised a finger in response to the alleged chanting.

Subsequently, according to Reuters (h/t Eurosport.co.uk), an RFU disciplinary committee found “no evidence” that any racist abuse occurred. The 23-year-old midfielder had claimed that he was subject to “monkey chants” on Friday during the opening weekend of the Russian top flight.

Here’s what Artur Grigoryants, the head of the investigation, told reporters, per the aforementioned piece:

"

The match inspector and the match delegate did not note that there had been any disciplinary violations by Spartak supporters towards Frimpong in the match reports.

There were no instances of racism. We have no grounds to take disciplinary sanctions against Spartak.

"

On July 23, the BBC reported FIFA asked the Russian FA to explain the incident, in the hopes of preventing future incidents. 

BBC’s John Bennett posted the following footage of the incident on his Twitter feed and, needless to say, disagrees with the verdict of the Russian FA:

*Warning, contains pictures some may find offensive*

Although there has been no wrongdoing found in this instance, it’s clear the country is in a major battle with racism in their game. After all, Brazil international Hulk, who plays for Russian giants Zenit Saint Petersburg, said he encounters racism “in almost every game" recently, per the Associated Press (h/t the Guardian).

Needless to say, Frimpong himself was far from happy in the immediate aftermath of the incident and raised some pertinent concerns with the 2018 World Cup, set to be staged in Russia, now just three years away:

Should unsavoury incidents continue to blot Russian football, the questions about whether the 2018 World Cup should be stationed in the country will hold increased and concerning clout.