Technically Russia is in Europe ;), but it happens in Spain as well.
And Italy. And England. And throughout Europe.
But it ain’t like comparing black athletes to monkeys doesn’t happen in the US.
To protest a famous racist incident where Dani Alves had a banana thrown at him (sadly all too common in soccer) his FC Barcelona teammate Neymar started the hashtag #weareallmonkeys.
Here’s another, from Italy (note: Balotelli isn’t the easiest person to sympathise with, being the soccer equivilent to American footballs’ Terrell Owens, but still)
I think continuing the celebration but being more sensitive with the imagery used is appropriate. In the Pit thread, I’ve been comparing it to this hypothetical (which might seem more clear):
Someone wants to have a Hindu cultural celebration. They gather up symbols and decorations, and schedule the celebration in NYC. Sounds great, right? Well, some of the prominent imagery includes swastikas, and they happened to schedule it on Holocaust remembrance day. Someone points this out, and they change the imagery, and change the day. It wouldn’t be ludicrous in my view, to be concerned that some might see those swastikas as anti-semitic, even though they weren’t intended that way, and it’s reasonable to change the day and symbols used.
I believe you are thinking about the old Phoenix Suns mascot. I don’t remember anyone ever thinking the costume was racist.