Finally some much-needed justice has been meted out to some ignorant fans who chanted derogatory racial messages in the stands and then proceeded to attack a football player. A Serbian court has sentenced four football fans to a total of four and a half years imprisonment for a racially-motivated attack on a Ghanaian player, Solomon Opoku.

The four were sentenced by a court in the central Serbian town of Cacak to prison terms ranging from 10-18 months for attacking Opoku after a first division match in March. Another man was sentenced to six months for threatening a witness to the attack.

Opoku, who was on trial with Serbian first division club Borac Cacak, suffered minor injuries when he was attacked by fans shouting racist insults, and he immediately left the club.

Serbian football has a storied history of racist incidents. In 2006, police arrested more than 30 Borac fans accused of verbally abusing another African player, Zimbabwean striker, Mike Temwanjira. No one was sentenced in connection with that incident and Temwanjira left Borac shortly afterwards. In 2007, UEFA fined the Serbian Football Association $ 41,000 for racial insults by fans aimed at black players during the under-21 European championship match with England in the Netherlands.