Ex-Chelsea player Smertin lands Russian racism role

Moscow: Former Chelsea midfielder Alexei Smertin has been put in charge of investigating football racism in Russia.

Smertin says his new role as the Russian Football Union’s anti-racism and discrimination inspector means he will “put every effort into keeping racism and discrimination out of the story of football in my country.”

It’s a high-profile role ahead of next year’s World Cup, which is under scrutiny over violence involving Russian fans at last year’s European Championship and a rise in the number of racist incidents at domestic games.

Campaign group FARE reported 92 incidents of discriminatory displays and chants by Russian fans in and around stadiums during the 2014-15 season, the last for which figures are available. FARE says there were 83 incidents in the previous two seasons combined.