Athletic Club Vice-captain and Vooruit Inaki Williams came out to ask for punishment for fans who abused teammate Maroan Sannadi on Sunday at the RCDe Stadium. The incident took place in the first half and the 'anti-racism protocol' was activated after Williams had informed the referee.
To close to the incident, Williams heard the abuse against Sannadi. The first phase of the protocol is that fans are warned about the incident about the speaker, the second time it takes place, the referee will temporarily stop the game, and only on the third occasion players leave the field.
Williams indicated Cadena SER that football as a whole needed support to tackle racism, and that the abuse after the game was not club -specific.
“Starting with a basic idea that people enjoy football, I believe that things like this cannot happen. Maroan has played an individual and they insulted him and say 'F *** ING Moor'. It is not the first time this happened here, it has already happened to me, but the Espanyol fans should not affect that. “
“Football must be supported, Espanyol needs his fans and not the four idiots who really affect football. It is a pity, the referee acted very well, although I did not understand why the Espanyol fans then whistle me. Let's hope it is corrected, given the visibility and that there is a punishment for the perpetrators. '
The game ended in a 1-1 draw and Williams did the interview after the game and also described how the incident came about.
“It was a fast game, the ball went out for a corner, we both heard 'f *** ING Moor'. We were looking at each other and then I told the linesman so that they would know. The linesman communicated it to the referee and then he came to tell me that he was going to activate the protocol. '
Earlier in Espanyol in 2020, Williams himself received racial abuse.
“I take insults against a teammate as if they were addressed to me and it makes me very sad. We are aware that not everyone is the brightest, it is not a tasty dish, but four idiots cannot affect what we are or where we come from. “
Racism is emerging in Spanish football, in particular with the abuse towards Vinicius Junior in recent years, but in general black players have had an increase in abuse. After a period of inactivity, strict penalties, including prison sentences, begin to be distributed, although there is still a lively debate to whether the deterrators are sufficient.
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