Spanish game abandoned after alleged racist slurs from crowd

A Spanish third-division game on Saturday was abandoned when a team walked off the pitch in protest at their goalkeeper having faced alleged racial abuse during the game.

Rayo Majadahonda goalkeeper Cheikh Kane Sarr was shown a red card in the 84th minute of the team's match against Sestao River. He was sent off after he approached fans of the opposing team behind his goalpost.

On social media, videos of the altercation show Sarr, who is Senegalese and 23 years old, jumping into the stands but soon being pulled away by other players on the field.

He then told his team about the incident. His Rayo Majadahonda teammates refused to continue the game following the incident. The game was suspended.

Incident hours after Sevilla slams 'racist' abuse against one of theirs

Hours before the incident, Sevilla lodged complaints of "racist and xenophobic abuse" aimed at coach Quique Sanchez Flores and defender Marcos Acuna during their La Liga game at Getafe. 

The game was delayed for two and a half minutes after "monkey" chants were directed towards Acuna.

Both incidents take place only a few days after Spain faced Brazil in a friendly match arranged in an effort to combat racism.

Real Madrid forward player Vinicius Junior was the victim of racist abuse on several occasions in May last year, and received worldwide support after squaring off with a supporter in the stands, as Sarr did at Sestao.

How did players react?

"We had three despicable cases of racism in Spain this Saturday alone," wrote Vinicius on social media platform X, offering support to Acuna and Sanchez Flores.

"To Sarr and @RMajadahonda may your bravery inspire others. Racists must be exposed and the games cannot continue with them in the stands," he said. "We will only have victory when the racists leave the stadiums straight to jail, a place they deserve."

Meanwhile Sarr's team took to X, saying: "Our team will not come out to restart the game after our player received unacceptable racist insults." 

What did the Spanish federation say?

The Spanish federation said their committee will assess the incident.

"The match was suspended after an incident between fans... and Cheikh Sarr... who reported having received racist insults without any member of the referee team, given their position on the field, being able to hear them," it said in a statement.

Growing instances of abuse of Black football players has been recorded across leagues and levels in several countries like Spain, Italy and Germany. 

mk/rm (AP, AFP)