Former West Ham striker and potential transfer target Marko Arnautovic has been handed a one-match ban for insulting a North Macadeonian player. The incident took place on Sunday after Arnautovic scored Austria’s third goal and the striker turned to taunt the North Macedonian players Egzon Bejtulal of KF Shkëndija and Leeds United man Ezgjan Alioski. The former Hammers striker apologised for the incident but denied using racist language, as Arnautovic posted on Instagram:
Marko Arnautovic said: “There were some heated words yesterday in the emotions of the game for which I would like to APOLOGIZE — especially to my friends from North Macedonia and Albania. I would like to say one thing very clearly: I AM NOT A RACIST! I have friends in almost every country and I stand for diversity. Everyone who knows me is aware of that.”
The North Macedonian football federation submitted a request to UEFA to punish Arnautovic for a ‘nationalistic outburst’ and the player has since been suspended for one match.
