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Match official Mohammad Al-Emara suspended play after a spectator made racist comments towards him.
On Saturday night, the Finnish Super League match between AC Oulu and Inter Milan was briefly stopped in the second half after the referee heard racist comments from the crowd.
Match Officials Mohammed Al Emara The referee, who has been named the best referee in Finland’s top flight five times, said the remark was directed at him.
After the game, Al Emara called on spectators, fans and match organizers to take more responsibility for the issue of racism in Finnish football.
“I don’t know how many times this season matches have been stopped because of racist behaviour from the crowd,” Al Emara said.
“Even though I have done a lot on the pitch, the referee still has to intervene. I should be 100 per cent focused on the game,” he added.
After the match, Al-Emara also had a lively discussion with representatives of the home team AC Oulu and the tournament organizers.
“Such shouting must be stopped. However, there were so many people in the stands that it would have been difficult to find the person immediately if the security guards were not there,” said AC Oulu chairman Tommy Kesmer Tell Yle.
He added, however, that the person who made the racist remarks in Al-Emara has been identified and he will face the consequences.
“For example, we could ban them from coming to the games. It’s inappropriate and we have zero tolerance for any form of racism,” Kesmer said.
Emara told Yle that he believes there should be someone in the stands at football matches ready to intervene in any inappropriate or racist comments so that referees don’t have to initiate the process.
“They say racists stay out of the stands, racism stays out of football. That means if you behave racistly then you shouldn’t be in the stands at a football match,” El Emara said.
Editor’s note: The article was updated on 11 August 2024 at 14:09 to include comments from AC Oulu club president and additional comments from Mohammad Al-Emara.
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