Photo: Starsport (via B92)
Partizan Belgrade midfielder Everton Luiz left the field in tears after being subjected to racist abuse from FK Rad fans for the entire duration of Sunday’s Serbian top-flight derby match between the cross-city rivals.
According to Serbian broadcasters B92, the Rad fans goaded Luiz with monkey chants every time he touched the ball.
The referee then brought the match to a premature halt in the latter stages when a banner insulting the 28-year-old Brazilian was unfurled in the away section.
Luiz then approached his abusers at the end of the match and gave then the middle-finger treatment before welling up and making his way to the dressing room as police moved in to defuse the hostility.
Speaking after the game (which Partizan won 1-0), Luiz told the press:
I couldn’t hold back the tears as I had to face racist insults from the terraces for 90 minute.
I was even more shocked by the attitude of opposing players who, instead of calming things down, backed this behaviour.
Echoing Luiz, Partizan coach Marko Nikolic branded the risible scenes a “return to reality” for Serbian football, which has been peppered with high-profile instances of racism, notably over the past few years.
*Sigh*