Nigerian footballer Chinonso Jeremiah Obi has been hospitalised after a knife attack in Lithuania, in an incident described as racism-related by football authorities.
Obi was stabbed near an apartment building on Naujoji Street in Alytus around 11am on Tuesday,when he was walking to the location where the team was supposed to depart for Tauragė when the attacker a male born in 2007 stabbed him from behind.
Obi was stabbed in the stomach, buttocks, and arm before the assailant was overpowered and detained by the club’s administrator.
Passersby helped Obi, who was then transported to hospital, where the 20-year-old Lagos-born player’s condition is said to be critical.
He underwent surgery in Alytus and was subsequently transferred to Kaunas for additional specialist care. He was under anaesthesia but reported to be able to speak.
The Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) condemned the incident as a “manifestation of racism” and confirmed a suspect had been taken into police custody.
The LFF stated that the attack casts the country in a bad light, saying: “What happened in Alytus goes beyond any limits of humanity.
The person attacked is not only a player, but also a young person who has come to Lithuania, striving for a career, fighting for the honour of his team and contributing to its victories.”
LFF president Edgaras Stankevičius added: “Racism has no place in football or society. Every player, regardless of nationality, skin color or origin, must feel safe and do what they do best to delight fans in stadiums. Football around the world must be a unifying force, not a divisive one.”
(Independent)
