Russia face probe over race taunts at Pogba

WORLD CUP hosts Russia are being investigated by FIFA after their fans were accused of directing monkey chants towards black French players, including Manchester United’s Paul Pogba.

The tournament kicks off in less than three months but Russia, who lost the friendly 3-1 to France in St Petersburg, find themselves under the microscope once more.

FIFA are gathering reports and contacting Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) after Pogba and Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele were targeted at the Krestovsky Stadium.

The same venue will host seven World Cup matches this summer, including a semi-final, and French Minister for Sport Laura Flessel is among those who has called for action.

‘Racism has no place on football pitches,’ said Flessel yesterday. ‘We should act together at a European and international level in order to stop this intolerable behaviour.’ A spokesperson for world football’s governing body confirmed: ‘FIFA is collecting the different match reports and potential evidence in regards to the discriminatory incident reported in the media, including the one from the FARE observer who was present at the game. ‘Please understand, until we have evaluated all information available, we cannot comment further.’ Photographers at the stadium claimed they heard the chants when France players went to take corners. Tuesday’s incident was the latest in a catalogue of discrimination cases linked to Russian clubs.

In October, UEFA charged Spartak Moscow after fans made racist chants during a UEFA Youth League fixture against Liverpool.

Only last week, Zenit were charged over accusations that their fans threw objects and engaged in racist behaviour during their Europa League clash with RB Leipzig.

Piara Powar, head of FARE, added: ‘For us, the key issue is that the match took place at a stadium that will host one of biggest games during the World Cup. A semi-final will be there, plus many group games.

‘In many ways this match was a test of the protocols that the Russian Football Association has put in place, it was a match governed by the Russian FA.

‘This is a cause for concern, just over two months before the tournament, with no response from the stadium authorities after what looked to be a major incident.’

This is only the latest incident of discrimination linked with Russia ahead of the World Cup, which starts on June 14. FARE announced previously that there were almost 90 racist incidents recorded in the Russian league in 2016-17, compared to 101 in 2015-16.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said referees can stop or even abandon matches at the World Cup if racism occurs.