It is almost two years since Fifa wound up its anti‑racism task force, declaring it had “completely” fulfilled its mission and was therefore dissolved. That a banana should have been thrown on to a Russian pitch eight minutes into a Champions League game a mere three days after this dissolution was obviously unfortunate; that the banana should have remained there until the 15th minute arguably began to look like carelessness.
Ditto news that racist and homophobic chants have become more common in Russia in the season building up to the coming World Cup, according to a joint report by the antidiscrimination network Fare and the Moscow‑based Sova Centre.
Related: Fifa report favours North America’s 2026 World Cup bid over ‘high risk’ Morocco
Related: Uefa members rail against Gianni Infantino’s plan for new Club World Cup
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