Vorm hoping for incident-free trip

25 October 2013 22:46

Michel Vorm admits events in Moscow this week mean Swansea's Europa League trip to Kuban Krasnodar is on his mind.

Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure alleged that he was the victim of racist chanting during their Champions League victory over CSKA Moscow.

UEFA is investigating Toure's claims, while the Russian club have protested their innocence.

CSKA are due to face a disciplinary hearing on October 30, and Romanian referee Ovidiu Hategan could also face sanction after failing to broadcast an appeal for supporters to stop after Toure made his complaint.

Swansea are due to visit Russia in two weeks for their Europa League clash with Kuban, who secured a 1-1 draw in south Wales on Thursday.

And goalkeeper Vorm, who was part of the Holland squad that suffered racist abuse at a pre-Euro 2012 training session in Poland, admits the upcoming game will be on his mind through the next fortnight.

He told Wales Online: "It [racism] doesn't really happen in countries other than Eastern Europe so I will be thinking about it.

"We know it is a problem in Russia, even though there are a lot of foreign players in their league - Brazilians and Africans - who don't do anything to deserve this.

"I'm 13 years a professional football player and I've seen this many times, but I've never experienced anything really bad.

"I've never heard it for 90 minutes long and never the whole stadium, if I do then it might be different.

"But I hope that's not the case when we go to Russia, if so then that's for FIFA and UEFA to do something about."

If CSKA are found guilty, UEFA has the option of closing part, or all of their stadium for future fixtures.

Vorm believes such measures may be the only way to have an impact on the behaviour of some supporters.

"It's something that happens for years and years," he said. "It's hard because it's almost impossible to ban, but I think you have to do something again after what happened in Moscow.

"Maybe a club like CSKA should talk it through with their supporters.

"As a supporters' group there are always one or two leaders, and maybe clubs have to take them out and talk about the issue, or you will end up playing games without fans.

"That's sad for normal fans, but it's one of the options."

Source: PA