Did referee racially abuse player during football match? Investigations launched

Serge Kevyn and Jorge Costa (Photo Credit: ISL)

India’s soccer governing body (AIFF) said on Tuesday it has launched an investigation into allegations a Saudi Arabian referee made racist remarks about Mumbai City FC’s Gabonese forward Serge Kevyn.

The Mumbai side allege Turki Mohammed Al Khudayr made the remarks about Kevyn, who has represented Gabon eight times, in Sunday’s Indian Super League (ISL) match against Bengaluru FC, the AIFF said in a statement.

“The All India Football Federation follows a zero toleration policy against racism and the complaint has been forwarded to the disciplinary committee to investigate into the matter and take appropriate action if found guilty,” it said.

The clubs did not wish to comment on the matter.

Mumbai are sixth in the 10-team ISL and scored the winner in injury time for a 3-2 away victory in Sunday’s match.

Last month the owners of Premier League champions Manchester City agreed to buy 65% of Mumbai City FC, expanding their global stable of clubs to eight in countries from China to Japan to the United States.

The ISL is promoted by billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries and TV network Star India, which is owned by Walt Disney.