By Monica Iheakam
German Bundesliga club FSV Mainz has condemned in strong terms the alleged racial abuse on two Super Eagles players, Leon Balogun and Anthony Ujah.
The Nigerian internationals suffered racial abuse during Saturday’s away fixture against Hannover 96 at HDI arena.
Their ordeal is coming, barely just hours after Russian champions Spartak Moscow’s chocolate racist tweet of three black players , doing drills at a training camp in Dubai.
According to a statement on the FSV Mainz’s official website, Balogun was reported to have informed the club after the game about the incident concerning insults aimed at both himself and Ujah during the second half of the game while they were warming up in front of a block of home fans.
Ujah, who is back for a second stint at the club following his transfer from Chinese outfit Liaoning, started the game on the bench and took the place of Yoshino Muto nine minutes from time.
Balogun who has made seven league appearances for Mainz this season was on the bench for the entire duration of the game.
The club officials contacted Hannover about the incident after the game and also remain in contact with relevant authorities.
“I’m taken aback by what Leon Balogun and Anthony Ujah had to experience on Saturday. It’s unfathomable that players in the Bundesliga still face racial discrimination to this day,” Mainz sporting director, Rouven Schroeder, told the club’s official website.
” FSV Mainz 05 stand together with their players in the fight against racism and all forms of discrimination. Our common goal must be to remove all forms of racism, hate and xenophobia from Germany’s stadiums once and for all.”
FIFA had over the weekend condemned racially charged tweet by Spartak Moscow.
The World football ruling body had added that its decision-making Council emphasised last May that “member associations and referees should be ready to adopt a strict policy to deal with incidents of a racist nature.”