It is a “victory for Russian football” that a Krylya Sovetov Samara fan has been identified by police after throwing a banana at Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos, the team’s general director Denis Maslov told RIA Novosti on Thursday.
Minutes from the end of Krylya Sovetov’s 3-0 defeat to Anzhi Makhachkala in June, a fan of the home team threw a banana at Roberto Carlos, the second incident involving a banana to happen to the player in four months.
Local police said Thursday they had found the man who threw the banana, and that he had confessed, but he denied the incident was racist and would be released without charge.
“By and large it is a victory not only for our club, but for the whole of Russian football,” Maslov said.
“Stopping such activities in the stadium is possible with such a good example as this, that the man in question was found somehow.”
The fan would likely be banned from the Krylya Sovetov stadium, he added.
“We can and probably will ensure that this person will not be able to come to our team’s home games,” Maslov said.
“And I can tell you with confidence that he will not be able to get any season pass or ticket if he has to show ID to receive it.”
The club was considering an attempt to force the fan to pay the $10,000 fine levied on the club by the Russian Football Union for the incident, he said.
At a ceremony before Roberto Carlos’ first game in Russia in March 2011, a Zenit St. Petersburg fan leaned over a railing offering him a peeled banana.
Zenit were fined $10,000 by the Russian Football Union for that racist incident.
