A Spanish third-division game was abandoned after a team walked off the pitch in protest at their goalkeeper being racially abused.
The goalkeeper — Cheikh Kane Sarr — went into the crowd behind his goal to confront the fan who was allegedly racially abusing him.
His Rayo Majadahonda team-mates walked off the pitch to force the abandonment of their Spanish third division match against Sestao River.
In the 87th minute of the match, Senegalese goalkeeper Sarr, 23, was shown a red card after jumping into the crowd behind the goal following the alleged abuse, to confront the fan. Once the goalkeeper was shown the red card and informed his teammates of what had happened — the entire team walked off the pitch, with the match subsequently abandoned.
“Our team will not return to the pitch to resume the match after receiving unacceptable racist insults towards our player,” Rayo Majadahonda said in a statement after their side walked off the pitch.
“We condemn all types of racist insults in sport.”
ℹ️Nuestro equipo no saldrá de nuevo a reanudar el encuentro tras recibir insultos racistas inadmisibles a nuestro jugador.
Condenamos todo tipo de insultos racistas en el deporte.
— CF Rayo Majadahonda 🤍⚡️💙 (@RMajadahonda) March 30, 2024
Rayo Majadahonda’s president Inaki Acha told Radio Marca that the club will not push for a replay, insisting that it was the team’s decision to end the game: “There has been no pressure from us to play the match again. It was our decision, which the referee has accepted.”
Rayo Majadahonda captain Jorge Casado published a post on his social media account following the match stating that the entire squad was “all with Cheick” and added that authorities had tried to force them to resume the match.
“What happened today at the Las Llanas stadium, the home of Sestao River, is shameful,” Casado said.
“A section of the fans racially insulted our teammate Cheick Sarr for his skin colour. In addition, the league (run by the Spanish FA) tried to force us to go out and finish the game. I feel ashamed.
“It seems unbelievable, the year is 2024, and we have brainless people in the stadiums roaming freely. We are all Cheick. No to racism.”
Earlier on Saturday, Sevilla condemned the “racist and xenophobic abuse” suffered by their player Marcos Acuna and head coach Quique Sanchez Flores during their La Liga clash at Getafe.
The game was stopped in the 68th minute and was delayed for two and a half minutes after ‘monkey’ chants were directed towards Acuna, while Sanchez Flores claims he was called “gypsy” by fans during the match.
(Oscar J.Barroso/AFP7/Europa Press via Getty Images)
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