Cisse fury at racist insults by Greek fans

Panathinaikos striker Djibril Cisse on Monday threatened to report Greek fans to European football governing body UEFA following racist insults he received in a friendly in northern Greece at the weekend.

The 28-year-old French player was on the receiving end of remarks by a few spectators during the friendly between his team and Olympiakos Volos on Sunday.

“I didn’t come to Greece to receive racist attacks and for fans to make monkey sounds every time I touched the ball,” said Cisse.

“This is the first time in my career that I have been treated this way. What happened today I will not allow to go unpunished.”

Cisse, who in June signed a four-year contract with Panathinaikos in the most expensive transfer in the country’s soccer history, scored in the match won by second division Olympiakos Volos 2-1.

“After I scored the goal I went to the fans and told them to shut up and they threw bottles at me, and I threw one back at them,” Cisse said.

Cisse criticized the referee for not taking action when he told him that the fans’ behaviour was bothering him.

Olympiakos Volos issued a statement Monday criticizing their fans’ actions.

“We denounce the sporadic incident which came from five to 10 mindless people which cannot blacken yesterday’s match which was festive,” the statement said.

Panathinaikos did not comment on the matter, but coach Henk Ten Cate criticized Cisse for throwing the bottle back at the fans.

“I cannot justify that action. A Panathinaikos player is a professional and should not act that way even if they are treated that way. But he told me that two times he told the referee that fans were throwing bottles at him but he did nothing,” Ten Cate said.

If Cisse does report the incident to UEFA, heavy sanctions may be brought against Olympiakos Volos and the Greek federation.