Football
ESPN staff 9y

Andre Villas-Boas defends Russia over racism: 'I've seen the same in England'

Andre Villas-Boas has defended Russia's right to host the 2018 World Cup despite recent incidents of racial prejudice and abuse, and alleged it's no different in England.

On Thursday, FIFA asked the Russian Football Union (RFU) to explain why it banned FC Ufa midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong for two matches for his reaction to racism from Spartak Moscow fans while not punishing the alleged abusers' club.

The Ghanaian made a gesture with his finger in response to racist taunts in Ufa's match on Friday, which saw him banned for two games, while Spartak escaped punishment.

It was the latest in a string of episodes in Russian football ahead of the 2018 event, but Villas-Boas believes the country is being labelled unfairly and that similar instances happen elsewhere, namely England.

"I think there are big conditions for the World Cup, because there are big investments, there are good stadiums, there are and there will be magnificent stadiums," the Zenit St. Petersburg coach told Sky Sports.

"Obviously, there are occasional episodes with violence and racism, but I have seen the same in England, to the same extent. So I don't see that it's a problem," he said.

Speaking from personal experience, Villa-Boas, who is of fair complexion, said he hasn't encountered any issues in his brief time in Russia, and the perceived stigma shouldn't stop FIFA's showpiece from going on.

"I think at the moment because of the political situation, surrounding Russia, it's a stamp that people are trying to attach to this World Cup. In my opinion, it's a bit unfair at the moment," the former Tottenham boss said.

"I think it's not different to any other country. The World Cup has gone through South Africa, through Brazil, these countries have problems with violence, they have been wonderfully organised these World Cups.

"At least from my small experience in this country I had no problems whatsoever, the experiences that I have gone through, I have gone through in other countries too."

When asked about the political context surrounding Russia's hosting of the tournament, given the recent FIFA bribery scandal, the former UEFA Cup winner with Porto kept his comments pitch-related.

"There is a political situation that is ongoing and there is ongoing pressure for the situation to change, for the World Cup to change," he said. "I am not in the position to comment on this as I am not a political leader and neither can I have a valid opinion in this situation. What I see is that the stadiums are good, the infrastructure is good."

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