MANCHESTER CITY MIDFIELDER Yaya Toure insisted Friday “I am not deaf” and that he had been the victim of racist monkey chants in Moscow.

UEFA, European football’s governing body, has charged CSKA Moscow with the “racist behaviour of their fans” following Wednesday’s Champions League encounter in the Russian capital which City won 2-1.

Romanian referee Ovidiu Hategan could also face disciplinary action, having failing to request an appeal for fans to stop their chanting after Toure complained.

But while CSKA have insisted their supporters have done nothing wrong and what Toure heard was just general booing, their stance has been backed up by the club’s Seydou Doumbia — an Ivory Coast team-mate of the Manchester City man.

Toure, however, said Friday that Doumbia was just speaking up on behalf of his employers.

Former Barcelona star Toure, speaking to the BBC Afrique section of the World Service, said Friday: “I am not deaf.

“We are all humans. It is not a nice feeling to go and play a football match, to bring joy to the people and to be called a monkey or to hear monkey noises.

“I don’t look like a monkey.

“Other people must have seen it.

“Doumbia is a young brother. Someone I admire who I have known a long time — we come from the same country.

“I don’t want to say things that will put him in trouble but you can see a little bit the manipulation around all this.

“It is so pathetic and so sad to see things (racism) like that. I am ashamed to still have to talk about this subject.”

Immediately after the match Toure suggested a boycott by black players of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where there is plenty of recent history of players suffering racist abuse, could be on the cards.

However, Toure rowed back from those comments Friday by saying: “We know there are very large stakes for the country (Russia) around the World Cup.

“But let’s leave FIFA (football’s world governing body) and UEFA to do their work.

“UEFA has decided to apply the rules — that’s all we want,” he added.

“A lot of things have been said about racism. If today an organisation and supporters stray from the straight path or slip up, the goal is to see them straight again.”

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said today that a boycott of Russia 2018 would end up harming the wrong people.

“Who is more important? The billions of people in love with the game around the world, or a few thousand that go to football stadia and have a disgraceful behaviour in relation to the black players.

“If I was a black player, I would say the other billions are much more important.” added Mourinho, whose side play Toure’s City in the Premier League on Sunday.

“Let’s fight the thousands but give to the billions what they want: the best football. Football without black players is not the best football.”

Meanwhile Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said it was too soon to be discussing a boycott.

“It’s a bit early because it’s not proven what happened,” said Wenger.

And Manchester United boss David Moyes said walking off the pitch in response to racist abuse, which has been suggested as one way of confronting the problem, was not a good solution.

“That gives the people chanting or shouting against you what they want,” he said.

“That is not the way. Sanctions have to be taken on the club, the players and other supporters who are involved.

“That is the best way to get the message through.”

© AFP

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