• Former Chelsea midfielder said in 2015 ‘there’s no racism in Russia’ • Says he will put every effort into keeping discrimination out of World Cup

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

The former Chelsea midfielder Alexei Smertin has been put in charge of investigating football racism in Russia.

Smertin says his new role as the Russian Football Union’s anti-racism and discrimination inspector means he will “put every effort into keeping racism and discrimination out of the story of football in my country”.

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It is a high-profile role ahead of next year’s World Cup, which is under scrutiny over violence involving Russian fans at last year’s European Championship and a rise in the number of racist incidents at domestic games.

The campaign group FARE reported 92 incidents of discriminatory displays and chants by Russian fans in and around stadiums during the 2014-15 season, the last for which figures are available. FARE says there were 83 incidents in the previous two seasons combined.

In 2015, Smertin was criticised after dismissing concerns there could be racist incidents at next year’s World Cup,

“There’s no racism in Russia, because it doesn’t exist,” he said on the BBC’s World Football programme. “It is something against the opposition, not against a person.

“Racism in Russia is like fashion,” Smertin added. “It comes from abroad, from different countries. It was never, ever here before. Ten years ago, some fans may have given a banana to black guys – it was just for fun. I think the media is making the wrong image of Russia.”

Last week, England fans were warned in a BBC documentary that they are “100% guaranteed” to be the target for Russian hooligans at the 2018 World Cup and that the tournament will be “a festival of violence” for some locals.