Racism very much alive in Russia

If there is one issue Bafana Bafana have unintentionally ducked by failing to qualify for this year’s Fifa World Cup in Russia, it is the racism rooted deeply in the nation ruled over by the autocratic Vladimir Putin.

In a way, this is an obliquely ironic spin-off for the country which institutionalised racism during the dark decades of apartheid yet has begun to re-embrace the criterion of colour through the voices raised against “white monopoly capital” and the equally vociferous call for land expropriation without compensation.

But South African football – on the face of things, a game which looks well integrated – should not have the spurious excuse that failing to make the cut for the World Cup Finals is some kind of get-out.

For even if many of our citizens do not fully comprehend the politics of racism, at least we understand its implications first hand.

Russian soccer racism is a strident, in-your-face phenomenon with Football Against Racism in Europe (Fare) reporting 89 racist and far-right incidents at Russian games in the 2016/17 season; the problem became especially acute in the last decade as richer clubs began buying Brazilian and African players.

Yet Russian coach Stanislav Cherchesov has brushed aside fears that racism and hooliganism in domestic football are serious enough to mar the World Cup.

But his reassurance came as 10time champions Spartak Moscow received a suspended stadium ban on Tuesday for abusive chants at a weekend derby against city rivals Lokomotiv.

“I do not think that we have racism on a scale that needs to be fought,” Cherchesov went on record as saying, pointedly ignoring the salient fact that any racism in football needs to be fought.

There is more than enough evidence that the Russian fans are a potential powder keg ... and the tinderbox could be the volatile Zenit Saint Petersburg supporters.

In December 2012, Zenit fans published a manifesto demanding that the club exclude all non-whites and homosexuals, demands the club authorities refused, releasing a statement saying that “the team’s policy is aimed at development and integration into the world soccer community, and holds no archaic views”.

But until the summer of 2012, Zenit was the only team in the Russian top flight never to have