Brazilian midfielder Everton Luiz, who plays for Serbia's Partizan, was subjected to monkey chants Sunday from city rival Rad fans in the capital of Belgrade throughout the entire match, including racist remarks and a banner bearing an insulting message.
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Luiz left the field in tears, making an obscene gesture after the final whistle, prompting the home team players to attack him, leading to a full-scale brawl before staff from both sides eventually managed to separate the players.
Partizan coach Marko Nikolic said Luiz was likely to face disciplinary action from the club but urged Serbia's football authorities to punish Rad's supporters.
Rad Belgrade has been ordered not to play first division matches in their home stadium until Serbian soccer authorities rule over the racial insults, according to Reuters.
"Due to the misbehavior of their fans who racially insulted a player, Rad's stadium has been suspended until the Serbian Football Association (FSS) passes a verdict," the league's commissioner Vladimir Bulatovic said.
"Everton should not have reacted but something provoked his outburst, didn't it?" said Nikolic, who was sacked by Slovenia's Olimpija Ljubljana last April for racially abusing one of his own players. "Both sides in the incident should be punished. These things happen in football but it is now up to the authorities to sanction the offenders," he added after Sunday's match.
While at Olimpija, Nikolic offended the club's Nigerian striker Blessing Eleke by calling him a "Black idiot" for his exuberant celebration after an equalizer goal, which the coach claimed meant his team had less time to score in a 1-1 home draw with Zavrc.
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In a statement to Reuters, Luiz said he wanted to forget the episode.
“My family and I feel at home in Serbia and this is why I could not stop the tears after the game,” he said. “I took 90 minutes of racist abuse and other insults from the terraces and thereafter I found myself in a cauldron of emotionless individuals who charged at me when they should have protected me. I want to forget this, refocus on football and urge everyone to say ‘No’ to racism.”
Partizan won the match 1-0 at the Rad stadium thanks to an Uros Djurdjevic goal which kept them second in the 16-team league, six points behind champions and leaders Red Star Belgrade.