Banana-throwing fan, who offended Roberto Carlos is identified

The Krylia Sovetov supporter, who threw a banana at Anzhi defender Roberto Carlos during the sides’ Premier League fixture last year, has been identified, Sport-Express informs its readers.

The perpetrator, identified as Vyacheslav Prokhorov, turned out to be from Samara, but he denies racism allegations. He claims that during the incident he did not mean to cause any controversy and did not intend to offend the Brazilian legend.

According to Prokhorov’s official police statement, he took out the banana with the aim of eating it, but was forced towards the barrier by the crowd and had to push the fruit out in front of himself, lest it be squashed.

The investigation, which Krylia conducted in close cooperation with the local police, took just over eight months.

Krylia’s executive director Denis Maslov expressed his satisfaction at the positive outcome of the case, stating that it was a «victory for Russian football».

«By and large it is a victory not only for our club, but for the whole of Russian football. Stopping such activities in the stadium is possible with such a good example as this, that the man in question was found somehow,» Maslov told RIA Novosti.