A Lithuanian fan has been banned from EuroBasket by the governing body FIBA after he directed racist verbal abuse toward Germany’s captain Dennis Schroder.
Germany beat Lithuania on Saturday, but the talking point postgame was the racist actions toward Schroder, who said this in a postgame interview with German media outlet MagentaSport (hat tip Eurohoops.net).
“The Lithuanians, the fans, they always travel with the team, but unfortunately, at halftime, they made monkey noises.”
Arena security used CCTV footage from the building to identify the man, and as a result, he has been banned from attending the rest of the tournament. German Basketball Federation President Ingo Weiss made this statement Saturday (hat tip The Athletic):
“This is completely unacceptable to us. There is no place for such behaviour anywhere, and certainly not in the colorful, diverse and open world of basketball. We stand fully behind Dennis, understand his distress and will intervene with the organizers to ensure that such incidents don’t take place here again.”
FIBA said this in its statement:
“FIBA unequivocally condemns hate speech, discriminatory conduct, and racist language in any form. Creating an inclusive, respectful, and safe environment for players, teams, and fans remains a fundamental priority of our sport.”
With the win over Lithuania on Saturday, Germany improved to 3-0 in Group B and has ensured that it will advance to the 16-team knockout stage next round. The Germans are led by the Sacramento Kings’ Schroder and the Orlando Magic’s Franz Wagner.