Why does racism against black players persist in Spanish football?
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has called for worldwide stadium bans for fans and automatic forfeits for teams whose supporters hurl what he described as 鈥渁bhorrent鈥� abuse
Earlier this month, the goalkeeper of Spanish third-tier team, Rayo Majadahonda, went into the stands to confront a fan who allegedly racially abused him. Cheikh Sarr, a black man originally from Senegal, said he heard an elderly man join others as they made monkey gestures. But what took many people by surprise was the Spanish football federation鈥檚 decision to slap the player with a two-match ban for the confrontation.
It鈥檚 not the first time European football has been rocked by a racism scandal. Last year, seven people were arrested for a similar incident against Real Madrid and Brazilian star Vinicius Junior. Samuel Eto鈥檕, who is now the Cameroonian football federation鈥檚 president said, he too faced discrimination when he was still playing for Barcelona in Spain.
Nigeria鈥檚 Samuel Chukwueze, Ghana鈥檚 I帽aki Williams and Mouctar Diakhaby of Guinea, are among European-based African players who鈥檝e also faced racism. So, what will it take to end racism in European football?
Presenter: Alan Kasujja
Guests: Evelyn Watta, vice president of the International Sports Press Association and veteran British-Nigerian broadcaster Osasu Obayiuwana
Podcast
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