Drogba denies racist chanting will force him out of Turkey

Drogba denies racist chanting will force him out of Turkey

By Alex Moretto

May 21, 2013 12:12:00 AM

The Ivorian remains happy in Turkey and referred to the latest incident as an "individual act", while Pierre Webo was saddened by fan discrimination

Galatasaray striker Didier Drogba has insisted that recent acts of racism will not force him out of Turkey.

The former Chelsea frontman visited the house of the country's Sports Minister Suat Kilic following an incident between his club and Istanbul rivals Fenerbahce in which two fans were photographed holding banana’s and making allegedly making racist gestures towards the Ivorian.

"That was not the first time in the world, it happens. I am really happy in Turkey and I know that it was just an individual act," Drogba, who joined Galatasaray earlier in 2013, told Hurriyet Daily News.

Kilic claimed that it had not crossed his mind that the fans had the intention of being racist but, in hindsight, was upset by the actions of a tiny proportion of Fernerbahce fans.

“When I was watching, I thought that he would just throw the banana on to the pitch, I did not have the slightest idea that it was a racist gesture. The incidents saddened us like you,” the politician said.

Fenerbahce attacker Pierre Webo, a Cameroon international, scored both his team’s goals in the club's 2-1 win over Drogba's Galatasaray and appeared to claim that ignoring the problem is the best course of action.

He said: "I think it is best not to speak of it. The more we speak, the worse it gets. That was just not right. We know what racism is but we are very comfortable in Turkey." ----------------------- goal.com