Racism in La Liga continues to be an ongoing problem for Spanish football authorities after a further incident last night in the match between Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao.
Athletic Bilbao's Nicol Williams has claimed that he was targeted by a section of Atletico Madrid fans during the first half of the match when he went to take a corner. The 21-year-old told DAZN during a post-match interview:
“I have gone to take a corner and I have heard monkey sounds. There are stupid people everywhere but nothing happens, we have to keep working. I hope this changes little by little because in the end, we are fighting internally and externally against this.”
Williams sends message to racists
On the stroke of half time, Nico Williams got on the scoresheet when he equalised for Athletic Bilbao. To celebrate, he ran across to the section that had been abusing him and tapped his arm in reference to his skin colour. Speaking about his celebration after the match, Williams said:
“It comes with a bit of anger – it is not normal that they still insult you because of your skin tone.”
Williams' brother, Inaki, was also playing in the match and said that ‘the jeers should be directed at the people who said the insults and not at the victim.'
✊🏾 Nico Williams stopped the game tonight due to racist chants at the Metropolitano.
Few minutes later, Nico scores for Athletic and pointed to the colour of his skin in his celebration.
We’re with you, Nico. ❤️
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 27, 2024
Officials respond to more racism in La Liga
It's been a damning period for La Liga chiefs as racism continues to harm the game in Spain. Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr has been the victim of several attacks from the stands in recent seasons with La Liga reporting that there were ten incidents in total last season alone.
Responding to the latest incident, the league released the following statement:
“There's no place for racist or hateful behaviour in sport. La Liga vehemently condemns any racist acts and will continue working to eradicate this inexcusable behaviour from our sport.”