Russian football club Torpedo Moscow will play its third home game behind closed doors in the space of two months after its fans were banned for racist chanting, the second-tier Football National League said Thursday.
Torpedo played in front of empty stands March 20 after the club was punished because fans racially abused Alania’s Ivorian defender Dacosta Goore, who was also hit by volleys of snowballs from the stands.
In Torpedo’s first home game after the ban, fans shouted racist slogans at black players from the visiting Shinnik Yaroslavl team, and Torpedo will now play its next two home games behind closed doors, against Mordovia Saransk on April 19 and FC Ural ten days later.
“The Torpedo fans shouted insults of a racial nature at least four times during the match,” the FNL said in a website statement.
After the 1-1 draw with Shinnik, the Torpedo management condemned the fans responsible for the racist chanting, and promised rigorous police inspections at the ground in future.
“It was painful to watch what was going on in our stadium,” the management said in a statement.
Torpedo’s fans have strong links with Spartak Moscow fan groups, who have become notorious for ultranationalist elements, including racist chanting.
