So, it’s hard for Canadians to be indignant about racism claims when our second-largest province makes a high-profile decision that makes headlines around the world.

Yuri Studin, the president of the Greater Toronto Area’s Spartacus Soccer Club, has known Joseph Di Chiara since the boy was in the early stages of elementary school. He remembers young Joseph as not being tough enough to even keep up with his sister on the soccer pitch. Now, Studin is beaming with pride. After coming in as a sub last Saturday in a match against Terek Grozny, Di Chiara, now 19, got his first start Wednesday in the Russian Premier League in the sky blue shirt of Kryliya Sovetov, a 3-0 home loss to Anzhi Makhachkala.