Pellegrini praises Yaya Toure amid racism row

The Manchester City boss has backed the midfielder, who reported chants from CSKA Moscow fans to referee Ovidiu Hategan during a Champions League victory in Russia

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has praised Yaya Toure for speaking out after allegedly being racially abused by CSKA Moscow fans.

City midfielder Toure claimed to have been targeted by a section of the CSKA support during his side’s Champions League win at Arena Khimki on Wednesday.

The Ivorian reported the taunts to referee Ovidiu Hategan and urged governing body Uefa to take action after the game.

And Pellegrini believes Toure was right to be open about the incident, but refused to voice his own opinion on the issue.

“I have spoken with Yaya and he is OK,” Pellegrini said. “He did the right thing to say what happened and we will see what Uefa will do about it.

“Uefa has a special campaign against the racists. I think they are doing the right things to make sure there is no repeat but I don’t know what they are going to do in this case.

“But I don’t think it is good to keep talking about it [before the hearing]. It is very important Uefa deal with this. They must take their decision about it.”

Toure has indicated black players could boycott the 2018 World Cup – which is due to be held in Russia – if insufficient action is taken to eradicate racism.

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