PODGORICA, MONTENEGRO: Montenegro’s Buducnost Podgorica basketball club condemned “racist” abuse of its players by rival Red Star Belgrade fans and called for the cancellation of the finals of their regional league, the club said on its website.
The move comes after the club’s 29-year-old French player Edwin Jackson wrote on Instagram that he had been spit on and called a “monkey” by fans in Belgrade on Monday night.
Red Star’s victory that evening gave it a 3-2 series win over outgoing champions Buducnost in the finals of the Adriatic League (ABA).
“The escalation of racist and nationalist cheering from supporters (of Red Star) forces us to inform the Euroleague of all the details of this match,“ the Montenegrin club said on its website.
It said it would also ask the ABA to scrap the series.
“Images before and during the match clearly show that due to the attacks of (Red Star) fans against the Buducnost players, the conditions for a normal match were not met,“ the statement said.
The director of the ABA league, Kresimir Novosel, told AFP the request would be “examined” by league authorities, likely next month.
The game was forced to start late because of the unruly crowd, who also threw objects and stormed the court, forcing the Montenegrin team to retreat into their locker room.
All of the five games in the final series were held in a tense atmosphere, with Red Star also reporting abuse in Podgorica.
In an email to AFP, Red Star’s spokesman denied any racist insults, denouncing Jackson’s comments as “untruths”.
However, a spectator who requested anonymity confirmed that he heard monkey cries in the Belgrade arena. — AFP
