My note: It is a riddle to me why the skin color is still so important to many ‘white’ folks out there. Theodor Gebre Selassie was born to an Ethiopian father and a Czech mother, the Czech federation didn’t have any problem nominating him for the national side from the Czech champions, FC Slovan Liberec. Theodor was one of the few Czech players who sang the Czech National Anthem properly the other night, and he was one of the best Czech players on the opening match against Russia. Russia, of all the nations — as an Orthodox Christian country, and as the birthplace of her greatest poet of Ethiopian descent, Alexander Pushkin – is supposed to use a culturally sensitive approach in dealing with Ethiopians and people of African origin.
The European Championship was hit by fresh allegations of racism on Saturday, as it was claimed Czech Republic defender Theodor Gebre Selassie was abused by Russian supporters.
Officials from campaign group Football Against Racism in Europe claimed Gebre Selassie was subjected to racist insults as he went to take a corner during his side’s 4-1 defeat by Russia in the Polish city of Wroclaw on Friday.
“Our observer reported descriptions of that nature and it was directed at the Czech Republic’s only black player,” Fare executive director Piara Powar said. “We are trying to get evidence, but it’s not always possible to capture it on film.”
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