Don’t expect Zorya Luhansk Chief Executive Officer Sergei Rafailov to join the city of Manchester‘s tourism board any time soon.
Also, it’s great to see that he’s taking the Europa League loss to Manchester United “so well.”
Rafailov didn’t seem to really care much for Manchester, one of England’s most important industrial cities and a major metropolis of the north. On his club’s official website, the Zorya exec denounced it as dirty, full of drunks and homeless people. He also used his platform as an opportunity to make a bigoted, homophobic rant against gays.
“It was very dirty. Near the hotel, which was, incidentally, in the city centre, there were homeless people sleeping on the pavement at night,” Rafailov told the team website, via Goal.com.
Then came the hateful gay-bashing.
“I went out for a walk in the evening and went a little further from the centre. It was even worse there. Masses of drunk people. It was bizarre for me to see men walking down the street and kissing. I did not like it.”
“I would suggest we think about European integration 20 times [before we accept it], he said. I would not like my grandchildren to go outside and see men kissing and homeless people sleeping in the centre of the city.”
That remark was a commentary on the Ukraine’s efforts to potentially join the European Union, as Zorya is a Ukrainian side.
The Zorya CEO should expect a strong backlash for his disgusting comments, and rightfully so. It will be interesting to see what kind of punitive action, if any, FIFA takes against Rafailov, and potentially Zorya Luhansk.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.