TAMPERE, Finland — Germany captain Dennis Schroder faced racial abuse during his team’s 107-88 victory over Lithuania at EuroBasket on Saturday.
The German Basketball Association said two people were identified as the alleged perpetrators of the abuse and they were subsequently ejected from the arena in Tampere, Finland.
“You can insult me but monkey noises are something I don’t respect or accept. Racism has no place in this sport,” Schroder said.
The Germany captain, who is Black, heard the noises while walking to the locker room, news agency dpa reported.
“I noticed that Dennis was very upset — and rightly so,” Germany interim head coach Alan Ibrahimagic said. “Such things have no place in sports or competition. We hope this will calm down and can be resolved somehow.”
Schroder, who plays for the Sacramento Kings in the NBA, scored a game-high 26 points to lead world champion Germany to a third win in as many group games.
Ibrahimagic was standing in for Alex Mumbru, who was ill, for the third consecutive EuroBasket game.
