Brazilian and Partizan Belgrade midfielder Everton Luiz was reduced to tears, after he was subjected to racist chants during a football match.
Sunday’s match, a Serbian football league game between Partizan Belgrade and Rad Belgrade, was marred by sustained monkey chants from the fans of the home side Rad Belgrade, according to Goal.com.
Rad fans persisted in the abuse despite several warnings from the referee and the public address announcer, and at one point, a banner with a racist message was unveiled and had to be removed by stewards.
Partizan Belgrade has issued a statement condemning the action of the Rad Belgrade fans during the match, which ended 1-0 in favour of Partizan, “We strongly condemn the perpetrators of this insane act.”
Twenty-eight-year-old Everton suffered more than 90 minutes of racist chants throughout the match with the abuse getting louder in intensity whenever he had the ball.
Photo credit: N1
Everton, who previously played in Switzerland and joined Partizan in January 2016, grew emotional after the final whistle and gave a middle finger toward the Rad supporters, prompting a reaction from some Rad players who charged at him. A scuffle involving players from both teams ensued, and they had to be separated by officials.
Partizan’s goalkeeper Filip Kljajic comforts Everton after the match. Photo credit: Sky Sports
“I couldn’t hold back the tears, because I was racially insulted from the stands for 90 minutes,” Everton told reporters after the match.
Partizan’s management said later that Everton will likely face disciplinary action from the club for his offensive gesture but also called on the football authorities to hand out an appropriate punishment to the Rad fans.
“What shocked me above all was the attitude of the other team. Instead of trying to defuse the situation, they supported that type of behavior. I want to forget about it all as quickly as possible,” adding, “I want to forget this as soon as possible. I love Serbia and the people here that is why I cried. But please say NO to racism!”
Football in Serbia and much of eastern Europe is often marred by ugly incidences of racial abuse directed toward Blacks or players with African ancestry.
According to the BBC, in 2012, Serbian fans chanted racist abuse at Black English players during an Under-21 international match leading to sanctions from UEFA, the European football governing body.
