• Former Arsenal player faces ban after response to Spartak Moscow fans’ chants • Frimpong was later criticised by the general director of his club, FC Ufa

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The former Arsenal player Emmanuel Frimpong was criticised by his own club and now faces a multi-game ban after he was sent off in Russia for his response to racist chants from opposing supporters.

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The Ghanaian midfielder says he was subjected to monkey chants by Spartak Moscow fans while playing for FC Ufa in the opening game of the Russian Premier League season on Friday. The game ended 2-2.

Frimpong gestured with a finger toward the Spartak stands in the 31st minute, for which he received a straight red card.

Afterwards he said on Twitter that he had been “racially abused for the game that I love”.

“When the match was stopped, the fans started shouting ‘monkey’ at me,” he told reporters. “Then the monkey chants started. I don’t have any problems with the Spartak fans in general. I just did not keep my cool, I showed my emotions and it was my mistake. I want to say sorry for what I did.”

The Ufa general director, Shamil Gazizov, said his club would not seek any punishment against Spartak: “It was an unfortunate incident. There were people who could have shouted things. These are emotions which go away after the game. We are partners with the red and whites and are on good terms.

“What Frimpong did was wrong. Sometimes you even have to hold back the tears and just put up with it.”

In a series of tweets he later said: “Want to apologize for the sending off after being provoked shouldn’t have happened but also am a human being shouldn’t be racially abused for the game that I love.

“Fantastic result to draw with Spartak proud of team and I’m going to serve a sentence for being abused … and yet we going to hold a World Cup in this country where African will have to come play football.

“I must stressed not all Spartak fans done that only one person had to ruin it Spartak fans were brilliant and created a good atmosphere shame one person ruin it.”

Three other black players have been punished for between two and four games since 2013 for making insulting gestures in reaction to racist abuse in the Russian league. A recent report revealed over 100 racism-related incidents in football over two seasons in the country.