Anzhi’s Roberto Carlos Brushes Off Racism Row

Veteran Anzhi left-back Roberto Carlos tried to play down the racism row that emerged after the weekend defeat to Zenit St. Petersburg, telling press he was too old to let idiotic fans affect his game.

Brazilian media reported earlier this week that Carlos was taunted with a banana by a Zenit fan as he entered the stadium, causing uproar in his home country. The former Real Madrid star however affirmed that he would not let such incidents get to him, and insisted that he felt no ill-will over the match.

“That did not make me feel uncomfortable,” Carlos told Russian website Life Sports on Wednesday, as he tried to play down the furore caused before Anzhi’s 2-0 defeat.

“In my 37 years I have seen everything, I’m not going to be upset after seeing a banana.”

The Russian FA however appear to have taken a dimmer view of the incident. The organization have threatened Zenit with having to play one game behind closed doors, if the accusations can be confirmed and shown to have been carried out with malicious intent.