• Monkey chants were aimed at players last month in St Petersburg • Fifa opens disciplinary proceedings against the RFU

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Fifa has charged the World Cup hosts Russia with fan racism less than two months before the tournament begins.

Monkey chants were aimed at black French players, including Manchester United’s Paul Pogba, during France’s 3-1 friendly win over Russia in St Petersburg last month.

After collecting evidence of the abuse, Fifa says “disciplinary proceedings have been opened against the Russian Football Union for this incident”.

Russia has been charged with racist behaviour by its fans at the last two European Championships. On both occasions, the RFU paid a fine.

It’s the third racism case this season at the St Petersburg Stadium, which will host a World Cup semi-final . Zenit St Petersburg has twice faced Uefa charges for racism by its fans in Europa League games.

Russia has pledged to crack down on racism as the country faces increased scrutiny before this year’s World Cup, which it will host from 14 June to 15 July in 11 cities including Moscow, St Petersburg and Sochi.