Emenike fined in Russian

Inspite of being the victim of a racial abuse, Nigeria striker Emmanuel Emenike was Friday fined US$17,000 for his reaction to monkey chants at him by fans of Dinamo Moscow during last Sunday's 3:1 derby win by his club Spartak Moscow. "We decided it was an adequate punishment," said Vladimir Vasilyev, a Russian Football Union (RFU) ethics committee official. Russia is struggling with an unwanted image as a racist enclave ahead on the 2018 World Cup which it hosts, but the decision to fine Emenike and not sanction the fans for their racist behaviour is sure to raise questions about the country's sincerity about fighting one of the sports biggest problems. Emenike, who was also given a suspended season ban, raised his middle finger to the fans, but later admitted he lost his cool. His coach Valery Karpin was not pleased by the sanctions:"I have to agree that Emenike did something that he should not have done. "But at the same time I couldn't follow logic in the FA's decision as they didn't take any action against the Dynamo fans who had racially abused Emenike," he told reporters. "I'm glad they didn't ban Emenike, otherwise it would have looked like an outright racial discrimination."