UEFA Orders Partial Stadium Closure Over CSKA Racist Abuse

Manchester City's Yaya Toure (left) complained during the October 23 match against CSKA Moscow of racist abuse being shouted at him from the stands.

Russian soccer side CSKA Moscow is being forced to close part of its stadium for the club's next Champions League home game over a recent racist incident.

Europe's soccer governing body, UEFA, took the action on October 30 in reaction to racist abuse hurled at Manchester City's Yaya Toure by the Russian club's fans last week.

"The fight against racism is a high priority for UEFA," the organization said.

UEFA also said that their venue director for CSKA's Arena Khimka has been "relieved of his duties" for failing to stop play and issue a warning over the public address system as laid down in UEFA guidelines.

The referee was absolved of any blame.

Toure warned after the match that players could boycott the World Cup slated for Russia in 2018 if that country fails to get a handle on such racism.
Based on reporting by Reuters, BBC, and Al-Jazeera