Spartak Moscow have been accused of racism after posting a video of three black players stretching during a warm-weather training session with the caption ‘see how the chocolate melts in the sun’.
The tweet came from the club’s official account and shows Spartak trio Luiz Adriano, Pedro Rocha and Fernando stretching in the United Arab Emirates sunshine.
The video’s caption ‘see how the chocolate melts in the sun’ was accompanied by a series of smiley face, sunshine and chocolate bar emojis.
Spartak were instantly condemned on Twitter after posting the video with social media users calling the club a ‘disgrace’ and accusing them of racism.
The club tweeted on Friday to announce that Spartak player Georgi Dzhikiya would be taking over the official account though it is unknown whether it was the defender who wrote the video’s caption.
The anti-discrimination group Kick It Out condemned the Russian club, writing a response on Twitter which read: ‘This social media post from the official account of Spartak Moscow only continues to highlight the prejudices towards black people in Russia.
‘It is a reminder, that along with the whole of football, there is significant work to do to eradicate racism of all forms from the sport.’
Piara Powar, executive director of Football Against Racism in Europe, believes the message from Spartak is troubling as Russia builds towards hosting the World Cup later this year.