Coach of the Albanian football team KF Tirana has spoken about the racist abuse he has received while holding his position.
Ndubisi Egbo, a dual Nigerian-Albanian citizen took over the team partway through the season and oversaw their win of the Kategoria Superiore. The team will now take part in the European Champions League.
Speaking to BBC News, Egbo said that during one game, he had bananas thrown at him. He also said he had been spat at.
“The officials of the Albanian FA didn’t do anything because it was an away game and the fans were white. Police and security were there- but nobody did anything. They were afraid of the fans there,” he said.
“I couldn’t do anything, I just had to accept it.”
Egbo explained that he often heard things said about him in Albanian as people didn’t think he understood. He said that when getting on a bus while wearing a backpack, two men behind him said: “this one might be from Al Qaeda”.
KF Tirana was heading for relegation prior to him taking over. He joined as a goalkeeper coach in 2014 and took over after the previous manager was sacked in late 2019. Tirana was 8th in the 10-team division at the time.
The team will play in the first qualifying round of the European Champions League and will have to win four ties if they are to reach the group stages.
Exit has contacted the Albanian Football Association and its President Armand Duka for comment but has not received a response at the time of publication.
