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Eight fans have been arrested for directing racist chants towards Philadelphia Forward, Wayne Simmonds during a Czech Extraliga game in October.

SB Nation reports:
The fans have been charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and defamation of nation, race and other ethnic groups. Facing a maximum prison sentence of three years, the group of fans are tentatively scheduled to stand trial on Jan. 9, 2013.

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Simmonds has since left the team on Tuesday claiming it is due to family reason but can potentially return, as he is still under contract with the club.

With the NHL lockout occuring, Simmonds signed overseas with Liberec of the Czech Extraliga but during a  game against Chomutov, the opposing team’s fans started to chant the word “opice,” which translates to “monkey.”

The site reports:

According to the report from iDNES, the group is referred to as the “Black Commandos” and attend games in black hoods and scarfs. They are known to consume large amounts of alcohol prior to the contests.

Hopefully Simmonds can return to the team and the incident discourages further racist behavior.

SOURCE: SB Nation