MADRID (AP) — The club Mallorca of Spain indicated on Sunday that it is working with the authorities to identify the fan who made a monkey gesture after the midfielder of the Real Madrid Aurélien Tchouaméni scored in Saturday’s Spanish league match.
The young fan was seen by television cameras making a monkey gesture when the Madrid players celebrated Tchouaméni’s goal at the start of the second half at the Son Moix Stadium. The supporter subsequently threw a plastic bottle onto the field and the visiting players quickly showed it to the referee.
The Spanish league is also expected to formally denounce the alleged racial abuse.
Mallorca said that “it does not and will not tolerate any manifestation of racism” and indicated that it “actively participates in all campaigns to eradicate this scourge that goes beyond sport.” In the statement he stated that he did not want “this isolated case” to tarnish the image of Mallorca fans.
This is not the first time that Madrid players have complained about being subjected to racism in a duel against Mallorca. Vinicius Junior claimed that he was called a monkey during a duel last year and the fan has been accused of a hate crime. Both Vinícius and the fan appeared in front of a judge during the investigation. Mallorca banned the follower for three years.
Mallorca, which is partly owned by former NBA stars Steve Nash and Steve Kerr, recently made headlines after reaching the Copa del Rey final and losing to Athletic Bilbao this month.
There have been several cases of racist abuse against Vinícius since his arrival in Spain six years ago. An incident in a league match the previous season led to the player receiving general support in Brazil and local authorities implementing actions to reinforce the fight against racism.
But recently new cases of racist abuse have been recorded just before Spain received a friendly duel against Brazil with the nickname “The same skin.”
No one has been brought to trial in Spain for a case of racial abuse in professional football.
Madrid won 1-0 on Saturday and leads the league by eight points ahead of defending champion Barcelona.
Mallorca is 15th and is six units from the relegation zone.
Source: AP
