Obafemi Martins: I haven’t experienced racism in Russia

May 9, 2012 12:10:00 PM

The striker has insisted that he has not had any problems with racism in the Eastern European country, and feels Andrea Stramaccioni is the right man for Inter

EXCLUSIVE
By Lolade Adewuyi

Rubin Kazan striker Obafemi Martins has insisted that he has never encountered any racism in Russia since his transfer in the summer of 2010.

Players such as Christopher Samba, Lacina Traore and Roberto Carlos all had negative experiences after moving to the country, but the striker has stressed there's no more racism than anywhere else.

"I haven’t experienced racism. I think racism is everywhere but when you talk about Russia I don’t think it is everywhere. Nobody has come to attack me. Unlike in England, we go everywhere we want, there’s no racism but it’s still quite difficult there for us black men," Martins said to Goal.com.

"The only thing that happened is that my friend went to a shopping mall with my brother and some people tried to fight them. They didn’t really understand what those people said to them.

"So when they got home they told me about it, and I told them they should stay home. I know it is difficult but we need to be free wherever we go."

The attacker then went on to discuss the current situation at Inter, where he played from 2001 until 2006.

The Nerazzurri are slowly getting back on their feet under caretaker boss Andrea Stramaccioni after a difficult season, and Martins believes the young coach is the right man for the job.

"He’s a young man. I think Inter need exactly a type of manager like that, someone with a different style of play. At Inter there are big names, so they need a young coach who is going to help the young ones as well. I think he can do it very well."

Martins has been struggling to secure regular first-team action at Rubin this term due to the side's defensive approach, and admitted that he could decide to move on in order to get more playing time elsewhere.

"The way we play in our team is defensive, so it’s difficult for me. It’s not anything like the attacking football in England, especially at Rubin Kazan. I’m not going to say it’s difficult to score but it’s hard to score. It’s all about defence, it’s not good for my style. You know I love to attack.

"It has affected my game a lot as I’ve not been playing much. I’d like to go somewhere I can play regularly."

The 27-year-old has a contract with Rubin until June 2013.

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