The footballers from Valencia CF. left the Ramón de Carranza stadium in Cádiz shortly after half an hour of play after the French defender Mouctar Diakhaby received racist insults from a rival, as the Levantine club reported on its Twitter account.
The match resumed about 10 minutes later, as both teams decided to return to the field, although the alleged victim, Diakhaby, remained in the locker room, being replaced by Hugo Guillamón.
“The team met and decided to return to fight for the shield, but firm in condemning racism throughout Valencia, in all its forms. No racism,” the Valencian club denounced in a first tweet.
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“The player, who received a racist insult, asked his colleagues to return to the field to fight. With you, Mouctar,” Valencia added in another message.
Valencia issued a statement a few hours later in which, in addition to showing “disappointment” that the referee had not made a decision, he confirmed the threats of losing the game by not playing, which which had already been emphasized by the captain. José Luis Gayá and coach Javi Gracia.
“The referee conveys to the players the potential consequences of not returning to the field of play. The players, forced to play under threat of penalty after racist insults and the yellow card to Diakhaby, decide to return to the field of play.” denounced the entity.
The events occurred shortly after half an hour of play, when Diakhaby abruptly gave up the game to face the player from Cádiz, Juan Cala. The two players started arguing and later the Frenchman told the referee that he was going to leave the field of play, a decision taken by his teammates.
In the arbitration act, the referee David Medié Jiménez specified that Diakhaby told him: “He called me ‘black shit'”.
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Cádiz’s coach, Álvaro Cervera, said after the match that “Cala says he never insulted the player. He is my player, I have to believe”.
The Andalusian club also published a statement in which, without specifically referring to Cala, it states: “We do not doubt the honesty of all members of our team.”
The incident reached the realm of politics. “Equality and the rejection of racism. This is the most important party. A hug for Diakhaby. This is his home, his land,” Valencian Prime Minister Ximo Puig wrote on Twitter.
The interruption of this match on the 29th day of LaLiga, which was 1-1 on the scoreboard, just with Cala as Cadista scorer, was resumed 10 minutes later to play the last eight minutes of the first half, although Diakhaby did not he jumped in the yard. Yes, Juan Cala did it, although he was replaced at the break.
The two involved in the incident then settled in the stands to watch the second half of a match that ended in a 2-1 local victory.
This incident is reminiscent of that of Moussa Marega in February 2020: the French striker from Porto reported that he suffered racist insults from a rival Guimaraes and decided to leave the field, although on that occasion his colleagues did not support him and left on the field.
It is the first time in Spain that a match is interrupted by the players’ decision, although it is not the first time that racist incidents are recorded.
Following a complaint by LaLiga, an investigation was opened against two Espanyol de Barcelona fans who uttered racist insults and imitated the gestures of a monkey when they met Athletic striker Williams Williams.
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On December 8, all Turkish Basaksehir players left the field after one of the fourth officials, Romanian Sebastian Coltescu, allegedly referred to Pierre Achille Webo, a member of the Turkish team’s coaching team, as “black”.
Paris SG also left the Parc des Princes ground in a gesture of support for Webo, in a match corresponding to the group stage of the Champions League, which was resumed a day later. UEFA has decided to suspend Coltescu for the rest of the season.
SPORTS
With AFP
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