‘I wanted to ask why’: goalkeeper in Spain banned for reacting to alleged racial abuse

Spanish football’s commitment to combatting racism has come under fire after its football federation handed a two-match ban to a goalkeeper who went into the stands to confront a man who had allegedly racially abused him.

The accusations of racism – the latest to rock Spanish football in recent weeks – were launched on Saturday as Rayo Majadahonda took on Sestao River Club in a third-tier match in northern Spain. As the match ticked into its final moments, the Rayo Majadahonda goalkeeper Cheikh Sarr, who was born in Senegal, said he heard racial slurs being hurled at him.

It wasn’t the first time, he later told reporters, but as he listened to an elderly man join others in allegedly making monkey gestures and attacking the colour of his skin, it hit differently.

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“Other times it could be seen as something playful or a joke. However, this was not the case on Saturday, as it was something horrible and I could not stop myself. It was a very sad and ugly thing that they were saying,” said the 23-year-old.

“I grabbed him and asked why he was insulting me. My attitude was not aggressive, I just wanted to ask him why,” said Sarr, who later apologised for what he described as an “overreaction”.

The match was suspended in the 84th minute after the referee, who said he was too far away to hear the alleged insults, sent off Sarr, prompting his teammates to leave the pitch in protest. Sestao have denied that racist chants were uttered during the match.

The incident made headlines across Spain, coming just days after Real Madrid’s Brazilian star Vinícius Júnior laid bare the personal toll exacted by years of racist insults.

On Saturday Vinícius was among those who backed Sarr and Rayo Majadahonda. “May your bravery inspire others,” he wrote on social media. “Racists must be exposed and matches cannot continue with them in the stands.”

Days later the Spanish Football Federation said that Sarr would be handed a two-match ban for “conduct that was contrary to good sportsmanship”. Rayo Majadahonda would also forfeit the match, be deducted three points and fined €3,006 after the players abandoned the match in protest of the racial abuse.

The captain of Rayo Majadahonda described the federation’s decision as “unfair,” given what Sarr had gone through. “He seems to be blamed for everything,” Jorge Casado told broadcaster Cadena Ser. “It seems the offender gets off scot-free … the message seems to be that anything goes.”

Sestao, who were leading 2-1 before the game was abandoned, were fined €6,001 and ordered to play two matches behind closed doors with the federation’s disciplinary committee noting that the club had failed to take measures to prevent racist incidents from occurring. Sestao described the decision as “unfair” and said it would appeal.

In Spanish media, some were swift to point out that the sanctioning of Sarr was seemingly at odds with the need to stamp out racism.

“Is this Spanish football’s solution? This is the image that it wants to give the world to say, ‘Don’t worry, we’re acting against racism?’” Manu Carreño, the director of Cadena’s Ser football program El Larguero told the broadcaster. “Is this the way to eliminate and fight racism? We have to take a really serious look at this. In the end we wind up all being accomplices.”

Earlier this week, sports daily Marca had urged football officials to seize on the incident to demonstrate that the fight against racism was a priority. “Our football, our country, is in the global spotlight due to the series of racist acts that are damaging our image,” it wrote in an op-ed published on Tuesday. “The victim cannot be punished.”

One day later, however, Marca described the federation’s decision as “sensible” and a “step forward” in combatting racism. “Although not sanctioning Cheikh Sarr would have been monumental and exemplary … the two-match ban imposed on Rayo Majadahonda’s goalkeeper is a minimum and reasonably acceptable punishment,” it noted.

The federation did not reply to a request for comment. On Wednesday it also ordered Getafe to partially close their central stand for three matches following the racist and xenophobic abuse suffered by the Sevilla manager, Quique Sánchez Flores, and the player Marcos Acuña in the La Liga game on Saturday.