MOSCOW, May 27 (RIA Novosti) - Dynamo Moscow have withdrawn a complaint filed with the Russian football authorities over "unacceptable and insulting" comments made by CSKA Moscow's Nigerian striker Ouwo Moussa Maazou.
The incident has its roots in a mid-May Russian Cup semifinal between Dynamo and CSKA during which Maazou, 20, was racially abused by a group of Dynamo fans. Dynamo was subsequently fined some $3,200 over its supporters' behavior.
After the game, which CSKA won, Maazou seemed to suggest in an interview with Sport Express that the fact that there were no black players in the Dynamo side meant the club tacitly approved of its fans' actions.
However, after Dynamo lodged an official protest over his comments, Maazou told the CSKA website that he may have been "misunderstood" and that he had not wanted to accuse the club of condoning the fans' behavior.
Racism has long been an issue in Russian football, with black players frequently complaining of abuse.
In March, Zenit St. Petersburg goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeyev told the country's Futbol magazine that the far rightwing views of the club's supporters made it impossible for the club to sign a black player.
