Herd racism: a fan who threw a banana at a Zenit player explained

Ulyanovsk police showed a video with a caught fan

A fan who threw a banana on the field during the match between Zenit and Volga in the Russian Cup has been detained by the police and is already testifying. Asserting, regrets the act committed on emotions. “MK” reflects on the reasons for this behavior of spectators in the stands of stadiums.

On February 25, an unpleasant incident occurred at the Trud stadium in Ulyanovsk. The game was coming to an end when a banana was thrown from the stands at the feet of the Brazilian midfielder of Zenit Wendel leaving the field. About what happened immediately after that and how the players and coaches of both teams reacted to what happened, MK already wrote on February 26 in the article Banana Football. Expressing confidence that the offender will be found sooner or later. So in the end it happened.

On March 10, the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Ulyanovsk Region published a message: “As a result of the measures taken, the police officers identified the offender and detained him. It turned out to be a resident of the regional center, born in 2004.” Adding that the police officers drew up an administrative protocol against the fan under Article 20.31 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Russia “Violation of the rules of conduct for spectators during official sports competitions”, which will be sent to the court for consideration.

In addition, a video was published in which a young man with a covered face (the court verdict has not yet been issued) admits that it was he who threw the banana (“foreign object” in his interpretation) on the field and repents of his deed. Explaining his act “herd feeling.”

– In herd feeling. I saw Zenit fans throwing snowballs at the field. And on emotions, I also threw a foreign object, which turned out to be a banana, – against the background of the work card of the head of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Leninsky district of the city of Ulyanovsk, the detainee says. Adding that he regrets his act.

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Ulyanovsk “Volga” Russian Football Union fined 500 thousand rubles. “For the commission by viewers of actions aimed at inciting hatred and humiliating the dignity of a person on the basis of race,” the organization’s website says. Is it fair? Yes, because the organizers are responsible for ensuring safety at sporting events, in accordance with Russian law.

Immediately after that, the general director of the Ulyanovsk club, Mikhail Navolokin, announced his intention to appeal the decision of the Control and Disciplinary Commission (CDC) of the RFU. Having specified that this procedure will be much simplified if the police finds the offender. And so they found him. After that, Navolokin immediately announced that the club would challenge the decision of the FTC.

Could Volga have completely prevented this incident?

On the one hand, no. Because the “Rules of Conduct for Spectators at Official Sporting Events”, published, among other things, on the website of the Russian Premier League, bananas are allowed to be brought to stadiums.

On the other hand, if the Zenit fans really threw snowballs on the field, provoking the residents of Ulyanovsk, who were next to them in the stands, to such actions and interfering with the match, then the stewards could have intervened. But therein lies one of the main questions.

Back on February 28, a video of a “foreign object” being thrown on the field of the Trud stadium appeared in some Telegram channels. In which you can see how someone standing on the podium throws an object that looks like a banana at the players. And first of all, the banana falls at the feet of the dark-skinned player of the Volga, and not the Zenith. But there are no other fans throwing something on the field. The people surrounding the violator stand quite calmly and do not show any aggression towards the football player. Therefore, the detainee’s assertion that he acted unconsciously, he still has to prove.

But the tactics he chose are quite understandable.

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Football always excites emotions in people. And some of the most impressionable or inadequate spectators constantly throw something on the field. It’s good if it’s snowballs or bananas. Because a five- or ten-ruble coin thrown in a special way with the help of a special simple device can cause serious injury to players and judges. Not to mention firecrackers. In Italy, Inter fans at one of the matches once tried to throw a moped on the field. They didn’t do it – it turned out to be heavy. But it’s not that.

There are certain acts that in any case are regarded as a manifestation of racial hatred and humiliation of human dignity. And it doesn’t matter whether the person consciously committed them, or succumbed to the herd mentality. Because even in a state of passion, some things cannot be done. In no case.

The good news is that the “herd” racist has been caught. And showed everyone. So that the rest, before throwing bananas at the players, stop for a second and remember that they will be found. Necessarily.