Beninese goalkeeper faces racist insults in Slovenia

By Can Erozden

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AA) - A Beninese goalkeeper playing for Turkish football club Yeni Malatyaspor faced racist insults at a match in Slovenia on Thursday.

Fabien Farnolle, 34, told Anadolu Agency early Friday that some fans of Slovenian club Olimpija Ljubljana made monkey-like sounds at him during Thursday's UEFA Europa League match.

"They simply made monkey-like sounds during the 45 minutes [of the game]," said the French-born goalkeeper, who has roots in Benin, West Africa.

"They threw something at me but it doesn't matter. But I believe making monkey sounds [at someone] is shameful."

Yeni Malatyaspor advanced to the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League late Thursday, beating Olimpija Ljubljana 1-0 in an away game. Malatyaspor eliminated Olimpija Ljubljana 3-2 on aggregate with the victory at Stozice Stadium.

UEFA, European football's governing body, has repeatedly vowed to eliminate racism and discrimination from teh game.

In recent years, UEFA released a video to raise awareness of racism, with many football stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic joining the campaign.