Russian coach refuses to sign 'dark-skinned' players, makes Ebola joke

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FC Rostov coach Igor Gamula has provoked outrage by saying he will not sign more black players and joking that Ebola had spread to the club.

Photo: FC Rostov

Gamula told reporters that Rostov already had "enough dark-skinned players, we've got six of the things" when asked whether the club would be signing Cameroonian defender Benoît Angbwa.

He also said that five of his Russian players were ill with a high temperature and joked that the Ebola epidemic was the cause.

"I'm already worrying it's Ebola," he said, attempting to explain it away as "a joke, obviously".

Rostov midfielder Moussa Doumbia is from Mali - the sixth West African country to be hit with Ebola in the worst outbreak on record.

The virus has killed nearly 5,000 people in West Africa, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Gamula was recently in hot water with the Russian Football Union over a TV interview in which he shouted at a journalist and criticised a referee.

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