FIFA fined Russian soccer’s governing body for racist chants by local fans in a game against France, just five weeks before the World Cup is set to begin amid concerns that the country’s sports officials have failed to address racism among fans.
The Russian organization was fined 30,000 Swiss francs ($29,900) after weighing “the gravity of the incident but also the limited number of fans involved,” Zurich-based FIFA, the sport’s governing body, said Tuesday in a statement.
Video of the March match in St. Petersburg, which France won 3-1, showed Russian spectators directing monkey noises at Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba before the Frenchman scored.
Russian soccer fans have a history of racist behavior, with two top teams, Zenit and Spartak, fined last month by the football union for chanting in their stadiums, according to Tass news agency.
Another team, CSKA, was forced to play matches in an empty arena in 2014 to punish its supporters. In one infamous episode in 2010, a Nigerian player was taunted by a banana sign before his final game at Lokomotiv Moscow.