Frimpong banned for two matches as Spartak cleared of racism

Emmanuel Frimpong has been banned for two matches for gesturing towards Spartak Moscow fans he accused of racially abusing him, though the Russian Football Union (RFS) has found no evidence of misbehaviour in the stands.

Frimpong was sent off while playing for Ufa against Spartak last Friday, after raising his middle finger towards sections of the home support at the Otkrytie Arena, seemingly reacting to something said off the pitch.

Spartak have been fined 20,000 rubles for fans throwing objects onto the field, but have escaped any punishment in regards to Frimpong’s allegations.

“The match inspector and the match delegate did not note that there had been any disciplinary violations by Spartak supporters towards Frimpong in the match reports,” the head of the RFS Disciplinary Committee said.

“There were no instances of racism. We have no grounds to take disciplinary sanctions against Spartak. Frimpong has been banned for two games for the offensive gesture he displayed towards the stands.”

Reacting to the news on social networking site Twitter, Frimpong wrote: “For the Russian FA to say they didn’t hear or see any evidence of racism is beyond a Joke …Glad it’s all over dough [sic] thanks for support.

“Must stressed [sic] not all Russians behave like that.”