FC Twente must keep part of their main home section closed during the next European home match, on Thursday 28 November against Union Saint-Gilloise after racist chants towards players Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, and Loum Tchaouna were heard during the Tukkers game with Lazio in the UEFA Europa League last week.
At the time, the abuse was so bad, that the France Under-21 international had to be substituted. He appeared to imitate monkey noises when explaining to referee Nikola Dabanovic what had angered him.
After the Europa League meeting in Enschede, the club itself also announced that it would begin an investigation into alleged statements towards Loum Tchaouna. Twente came to the conclusion that these were indeed audible and the club strongly condemned them with a statement on the club website. Club general manager Dominique Scholten wrote:
“It is sad that this has happened in our stadium. This behavior is unacceptable, unworthy of FC Twente and deeply affects us all. The impact this has on the well-meaning supporters, players and staff is great. We are doing everything we can to track down the perpetrators.”
UEFA has decided that part of the west stand, where the supporters’ group Vak-P is located, must remain closed against Union. Which part exactly will be announced at a later stage. The European Football Association has also fined the Tukkers €83,125, for throwing cups and displaying a banner that UEFA deemed unacceptable.
