Adjust font size:
UEFA have rejected an appeal by Wisla Krakow's Nikola Mijailovic against his five-match ban for racially abusing Blackburn Rovers striker Benni McCarthy. Mijailovic, 24, was given the ban last month after an investigation following the UEFA Cup match on October 19, which Blackburn won 2-1. The black South African striker squared up to Mijailovic at the end of the game after being allegedly provoked by the defender. McCarthy and another player who overheard the abuse had made a statement on the incident which was forwarded to UEFA and the English Football Association. Blackburn claimed that McCarthy had mentioned the abuse to Swedish referee Stefan Johannesson at halftime during the match. UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Body handed down the ban last Thursday. "UEFA launched the inquiry on the basis of an official complaint submitted by Blackburn, as well as on the basis of an additional report submitted by the match referee," UEFA said in a statement. "The UEFA disciplinary body, in reaching its decision, repeated its view that racism not only constituted a serious breach of the fair play principle, but also presented a serious threat to sport and its ethical values." Mijailovic and McCarthy squared up at the end of the UEFA Cup match. |