Ukraine boss racist remarks condemned

In bemoaning the lack of professionals in the Ukrainian league, former European player of the year Oleg Blokhin has been criticised for crude racism.

Oleg Blokhin, Ukraine's coach of the national team but, believe it or not, an MP to boot. 'The more Ukrainians there are playing in the national league, the more examples there are for the young generation.

'Let them learn from Shevchenko or Blokhin and not some zumba-bumba whom they took off a tree, gave two bananas and now he plays in the Ukrainian league. When I played, if we lost it was not easy to walk the Kiev street. There were many friends out there who could beat you up for that. Is there any sense in beating up a foreigner? OK, so you beat him up, next thing he does is pack up and go.'