Spanish Football Sparks Controversy Over Racist Acts

Rabat – On Saturday, Spanish football witnessed three racist incidents in Spain, which infuriated the Iberian press.

Implicated in one of these racist acts was Senegalese goalkeeper Cheikh Kane Sarr, who plays for the third division club Rayo Majadahonda. Cheikh Sarr was sent off in the 84th minute during a match against Sestao River after an altercation occurred between him and a fan behind his goal.

This altercation prompted Rayo Majadahonda to leave the pitch and the referees to stop the match.

“Our team will not resume the match after our player was the target of unacceptable racist insults,” the Rayo Majadahonda club wrote on its official X account (formerly Twitter).

According to the Spanish press, several supporters of Sestao River insulted Cheikh Sarr after their team’s second goal late in the game.

Lamenting these racist acts on Instagram, Rayo’s captain Jorge Casado said: “It’s an absolute disgrace what happened today… Part of the stadium hurled racist insults at our teammate Cheikh Sarr because of his skin color.”

Earlier that day, Sevilla FC had denounced “racist and xenophobic insults” made during a match against Getafe CF.

Rude remarks were made against the Argentinean player Marcos Acuna, who was referred to as a “monkey” in the official match report, and coach Quique Sanchez Flores, who stated that he was called a “gypsy.”

For his part, Real Madrid’s Brazilian star Vinicius Junior stated on his X account that “we’ve had three despicable cases of racism in Spain this Saturday alone.”

Showing support for the players in question, Junior added that “racists must be exposed and the games cannot continue with them in the stands,” stressing that “we will only have victory when the racists leave the stadiums straight to jail, a place they deserve.”

According to a statement released on Saturday by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), disciplinary cases will be settled and then forwarded to the competition authority for appropriate action.

“The RFEF categorically and unequivocally rejects any racist act or conduct … and reiterates its commitment to the fight against this scourge,” the federation concluded.