UNACCEPTABLE!
Some Greek volleyball spectators just DO NOT KNOW what good behavior is and that throwing racial insults IS NOT OK!
During the CEV Challenge Cup match between French club team VB Tours and Greek club team Olympiacos Piraeus, some spectators poorly behaved by making MONKEY SOUNDS each time Cameroonian player Nathan Wounembaina every time he’d touch the ball.
Nathan first complained to the head referee – who is from Bulgaria – and asked to the official to halt the match but the Milan Todorov declined his request. When he could not take it anymore, Nathan left the court and was eventually given a RED CARD by the official. With this red card, the outside hitter will NOT be able to play in their home match against Olympiacos which will be in 2 weeks.
Watch This Video:
In this video, you can see Nathan addressing his issues to head official but it looks like he was being ignored.
French Volleyball Federation or FFVB has released this statement:
“In the CEV Challenge Cup match Olympiacos vs. Tours VB, which was played last night in Greece, Tours player Nathan Wounembaina suffered racist abuse by some of the fans from the Greek club. This unacceptable situation has caused him to voluntarily leave the floor which was followed by the referee’s decision to expel him.
In terms of the sports rules violation that the club suffered and the attacks on the player’s personality, the French Volleyball Federation (FFV) and the French Volleyball League (NLV) have started a procedure to appeal to the Disciplinary Committee of the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) to punish this in accordance with its regulations.”
All other parties involved from this incident has NOT released any statement as of press time.
Nathan’s team has updated their social media accounts with his picture together with a #SayNOtoRacism hashtag.
Stay Strong Nathan!