Dynamo Kiev have rejected claims that they are considering segregating black fans "to avoid the manifestation of racism", after footage of an attack on four black supporters in the stand during the Champions League match against Chelsea went viral last week.
The club is under investigation from Uefa over the shocking incident that ended with at least two fans hospitalised and claims that one of them had been stabbed.[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"86041","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]
The claim of segregation subsequently emerged in the Washington Post which reported that the director of the Olimpiyskiy stadium, Volodimir Spilchenko, was "willing to consider" the idea after it was floated in an interview.
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It went on quote Spilchenko as saying: "We are trying, maybe, to make a separate sector [for black fans]."
However, the US website admitted: "Spilchenko didn't come up with the idea on his own, but didn't at all eschew it after it was suggested by the reporter. Spilchenko called it a 'good idea' and said, 'we'll probably listen to your offer'."
The claim was soon picked up by other media. The Daily Telegraph said the idea was "likely to spark a fresh backlash against the club".
It drew a withering repsonse from anti-discrimination group Fare, which made the original footage of the attack public. "We have people who think it’s quite within the realms of a sensible response to just be trivialising the matter by suggesting separate areas of the stadium. It’s utterly ridiculous," said executive director Piara Powar.
However, The Guardian reports that Dynamo Kiev's stadium has since posted a message on Facebook accusing the media of ignoring the rest of Spilchenko's reply to the question. It said Western media had reported "only the first sentence of the possibility of creating a separate sector and completely ignored the next sentence, in which the executive director expressed his position".
It claimed that Spilchenko "categorically condemned the idea of creating a separate sector or any other segmentation separate groups of supporters. He also said that he always opposed the construction of additional barriers for fans. But these words were not included."
The statement also warned journalists to "pay more attention on the correct transmission of information".
