Italian club Rioveggio paint faces black in calamitous anti-racism protest

 

Charles Reynolds Author Biography

Charles Reynolds

Charles Reynolds is a freelance writer and journalist specialising in sport and the arts. He writes the Premier League previews for The Independent online and writes regularly for The Sport Review.

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Thursday 24 October 2013

After the disgraceful racist abuse Yaya Toure suffered during Manchester City's clash with CSKA Moscow on Wednesday, pictures have emerged of a lower league Italian side's misguided protest against racism in football.

Rioveggio, a lower league club near Bolgona, decided to make a stand after their Togolese player Teibou Koura was sent off for shoving an opponent who had reportedly shouted "shut up n*****" at him.

However the manner of their protest was a decided own goal as they chose to black up their faces in a rather mistaken sign of unity.

The players and coaches held a banner that read 'NO to Racism' although the fact that they had all painted their faces black slightly undermined their undoubtedly good intentions.

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