Spartak Moscow might have earned a valuable point against Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League but the club are facing an investigation for racism, for an alleged incident during the Youth Champions League encounter against us.
The BBC reports that the abuse took place at the Spartak Academy and was directed towards 18-year-old Bobby Adekanye when the youngster came on in the 58th minute as a substitute.
This isn’t the first time an incident like this has occurred in Russia and this will once again dent their image as they look to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018.
Spartak are also facing investigation for three other incidents during our 1-1 draw with the club. The fans were displaying illicit banners and were singing similar chants while they also set off fireworks during the game and blocked the stairways.
The charges for the incidents will be dealt with on 19th October by UEFA’s control, ethics and disciplinary board. Spartak are already reeling from other problems as they were fined £52,664 for letting off fireworks during the opening game in their group against Maribor earlier in the month.
The club have also been banned from selling their tickets later on when they face group leaders Sevilla in Russia.
The Russian authorities had asked English fans to be wary of not causing trouble but this is not a new story to have come out from the country. There have been various incidents of racism in the country and it would not be a surprise if further sanctions are levied on the club, should the racism charges be proved.
Liverpool Need To Get Wins On The Board
Liverpool have already dealt with the away game for now and will have to prepare for their next away trip, this time to Maribor, where we have to win for the sake of an easy progression.
Should we defeat Maribor in both our games and avoid defeat against Sevilla and Spartak in the other two games, we should be able to make it to the knockout stage.
However, defeating Spartak at home, with wins against Maribor should be what we would be aiming for, and a draw against Sevilla away from home would be the perfect way to end the group after a rather tepid start.
