Austria beat North Macedonia 3-1 in a UEFA Europa League group game this morning. Shanghai Harbour's central midfielder, Arnautovic, was the center of the post-match heat when he celebrated his goal with an overly aggressive remark about a North Macedonian player.
Nearly 90 minutes into the match, Arnautovic sealed the win for Austria with a solo goal, his third of the match. However, in his excitement after the goal, Arnautovic made provocative remarks to North Macedonian defender Alioski, which may have been related to the opponent's previous defensive actions against the Austrian player.
Arnautovic was rumored to have insulted Alioski's Albanian mother at the time, an act that sparked a racial discrimination controversy.
However, there is no official word on exactly what Arnautovic said. But judging by the fact that Austria's captain, Alaba, immediately stepped forward to stop his actions and told him to calm down, Arnautovic's words were indeed too strong.
After the match, Macedonian media outlets in North Macedonia have criticized Arnautovic's behavior, arguing that he should have received a ban. UEFA has always had zero tolerance for racist behavior.
Tonight BST, Arnautovic clarified his words and actions via social media.
He wrote on social media, "Yesterday (CET) I said some over-the-top words in the heat of the moment and I would like to apologize for that, especially to my Macedonian and Albanian friends in North Macedonia.
"I want to be clear: I am not a racist! I have friends in almost every country and I stand for diversity. Anyone who knows me knows this."
Arnautovic, whose father is Serbian and mother Austrian, holds dual citizenship of both countries and eventually chose to play for Austria. From the previous situation, Arnautovic was not a racist. As he said, he had all kinds of friends. For example, despite the tensions between Serbs and Croats in the former Yugoslavia, at Seaport, Arnautovic had good relations with players of Serbian origin such as Leko, the head coach from Croatia, and his teammate, Mysztorovic.
All of them, including other former Southern Region foreigners from the Chinese Super League, maintain a good friendship with Arnautovic. They meet every day for coffee and chats during their time in the region, and they also get together in Shanghai during their vacations.
