Senegalese goalkeeper Cheikh Sarr has faced racist taunts from the stands in the past, but last Saturday during a game in the third division of Spain, he decided he’d had enough when a fan allegedly approached him just to insult him.
I grabbed him and asked him to stop making fun of me. The 23-year-old spoke to the media on Tuesday on the incident in Sestao, a working-class town in northern Spain, that led to the cancellation of the game. “My approach was not confrontational; I simply wanted to ask him why.”
“Other times, it could be interpreted as fun or a joke. However, on Saturday, something terrible happened and I couldn’t stop myself. It was a very sad and horrible thing they were saying”, he added.
The match between Sarr’s Rayo Majadahonda and Sestao River Club was suspended in the 84th minute due to an altercation that resulted in Sarr being expelled by the referee, who was too far away to hear the alleged obscenities, and his teammates leaving the pitch in protest.
Racism in sports has been a heated topic in Spain, particularly since Real Madrid’s Brazil winger Vinicius Jr, who has been subjected to multiple episodes of racist abuse and is involved in an anti-racism campaign, referred to LaLiga and Spain as racist last year.
On Saturday, he spoke out in support of those affected on social media once more, noting “three despicable cases of racism” that day, including Sarr’s.
Sevilla’s Argentina defender Marcos Acuna and coaching staff were also the target of “racist and xenophobic insults” from fans in a LaLiga game at Getafe, the club said.
Sarr expressed gratitude to Vinicius for tagging him in a supportive social media post.
“If more players said no to racism like he does, they (racists) wouldn’t have the power they have now,” he stated.
