Spanish government wants explanations about racism incident

Posted April 07, 2021 7:00 am

By TALES AZZONI

MADRID (AP) - The Spanish government wants explanations from the league and the soccer federation about the actions taken by officials after a player said he was racially insulted last weekend.

Through its ministries of equality and social rights, the government sent a letter Wednesday to the Spanish league and the soccer federation expressing 'œconcerns with situations like this,'ť which have been happening 'œoften in soccer competitions in our country.'ť

'œThis concern prompts us to ask you what were the concrete actions that were effectively adopted in this case in particular,'ť the letter said, also asking about the 'œpreventive measures'ť that will be used in the future 'œto keep similar situations from happening in soccer stadiums in our country.'ť

The incident happened in Sunday's game between CÃ¡diz and Valencia, whose players walked off the field after defender Mouctar Diakhaby said he was racially insulted by CÃ¡diz player Juan Cala. Diakhaby is Black. Cala has denied any wrongdoing.

The match continued after the Valencia squad returned saying it felt threatened by the referee with the loss of points. Diakhaby was substituted before the game resumed. Cala was replaced later in the match, which CÃ¡diz won 2-1.

The government letter said it was 'œalarming'ť that the game continued without the player who made the racism accusation while the one who allegedly made the insult stayed on the field.

The Spanish league said it would respond to the government's letter later on Wednesday. It had said on Monday that it condemned 'œall shapes and forms'ť of racism and said it took 'œany allegation of racism seriously.'ť It added it would 'œwork with the clubs and refereeing establishment to do whatever is necessary to protect the values of equality and respect that prevail in our Spanish professional football competition.'ť

Diakhaby, responding to a tweet that claimed that there was audio of Cala's alleged insult, wrote that 'œto be silent is to be an accomplice,'ť along with the Spanish league's Twitter handle.

The Spanish federation said it was investigating Sunday's incident.

'œWe are convinced that all the agents who play a key role in such a relevant sector to our country such as soccer are firmly committed against racism and will do everything in their power to prevent unfortunate situations such as the one that happened last Sunday from happening again,'ť the government said in its letter.

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Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni

FILE - In this Oct. 17, 2020, file photo, Cadiz's Juan Cala and Real Madrid's Isco, left, fight for possession during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Cadiz at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium in Madrid, Spain. Valencia stopped playing its Spanish league game at Cadiz on Sunday, April 4, 2021, and walked off the field after one of its players said he was racially insulted by an opponent. The club said it resumed the game after feeling threatened by the referee with the loss of points. Valencia left the field after Mouctar Diakhaby said he was insulted by defende Cala, who denied any wrongdoing. Cadiz, from southern Spain, condemned racism but said it "cannot comment on incidents that arise between players during the course of play.' (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File) The Associated Press

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