Japan's Nakamura quits Slovakian club over racism

TOKYO (AP) -Japanese striker Yuki Nakamura says he has left Slovakian club Rimavska Sobota because he was a target of racist abuse.

"It's a real shame but I have come home because I have been subjected to racism at Rimavska Sobota and I can't carry on living there,'' the 25-year-old Nakamura wrote on his blog.

Nakamura, who has also played in Romania and the Czech Republic, says supporters would hurl abuse at him before and after games and that none of his teammates would offer help.

"This is not normal,'' said Nakamura, who was on loan from Czech side Viktoria Zizkov. "Some type of threat was made to the club but they said there was nothing they could do about it, so I came home. I doubt there are many players that have experienced this.''

Several Japanese players have encountered difficulties while playing overseas. In 2011, former Lierse goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima was taunted with chants of "Fukushima, Fukushima'' by opposing fans in reference to the nuclear disaster following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter recently reiterated his belief in deducting points from teams in cases of racial abuse - which he believes is the one of the biggest scourges in football.