Spartak Moscow fined over banana throwing at KHL game
MOSCOW – Spartak Moscow has been fined for racist behaviour by its fans after bananas were thrown onto the ice at a game.
Two bananas were thrown from the crowd after Spartak Moscow lost 4-1 on home ice to Croatian club Medvescak Zagreb on Wednesday, Russian media reported. The apparent target was Medvescak’s Swedish wing Edwin Hedberg, who is black.
The Kontinental Hockey League fined Spartak 700,000 rubles ($9,000) on Thursday, and “seriously warned” about the future conduct of its fans.
“The league emphasizes that breaches linked to the incitement of racial, ethnic, or international discord are unacceptable and also welcomes civilized and correct behaviour by fans in the stands,” the KHL said.
Medvescak communications director Ranko Vucinic told The Associated Press on Thursday that the club condemned the abuse of Hedberg but viewed the abuse as an “isolated incident” that was not representative of Russian ice hockey culture.
Spartak management said any fans involved in the banana-throwing will be banned from games, and that it has passed video footage of the crowd to law enforcement. Moscow police are investigating, but no arrests have been reported.
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