Football: victim of racism, Malian Marega leaves the field with a crash

Text by: Nicolas Bamba Follow

Major racist incident in a match in the Portuguese football championship, Sunday, February 16. Moussa Marega, the Malian international striker of FC Porto, scored the goal of his team's victory at Guimaraes before leaving the field, no longer supporting the racist cries he was subjected to.

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FC Porto are one point behind Benfica Lisbon at the top of the Portuguese championship. The Lisbon defeat on Saturday February 15 against Braga (0-1) and the victory of the Dragons on Sunday February 16 on the field of Vitoria Guimaraes (2-1) relaunches the title race.

But the sporting result of Porto is not the major teaching of this 21st day of Liga Nos. From this match won by the Portuans in the north of Portugal, we especially remember the dismaying spectacle which led to the furious exit of Moussa Marega well before the end of the game.

Insulted, Marega responds with a particular purpose and celebration

In the 60th minute of play, when the score was 1-1, the Malian, thrown deep, won his duel with goalkeeper Douglas Jesus with a stung ball. A goal that will prove decisive since Porto will not let go of this advantage of a goal. But just after his 6th goal of the season, Moussa Marega challenged some supporters of the Dom Afonso Henriques stadium, the lair of Vitoria Guimaraes.

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⚽️🙌🙌 @ marega11 💪 #FCPorto | 1-2 | #vscfcp

A publication shared by FC Porto (@fcporto) on Feb. 16. 2020 at 10: 55 PST

The Eagle did not celebrate its achievement with the usual joy of the goal scorer. No, he rather showed his forearm several times in the direction of the stands, as if to indicate his skin color. An attitude that did not please some people, who began to throw projectiles in his direction, including ripped seats.

The referee addressed Moussa Marega the yellow card, who in his opinion is responsible for having caused the supporters. The man with the whistle may have been unaware of the reasons that prompted the player to do so. But what followed undoubtedly enabled him to understand more. Because the incident did not stop there.

No one could stop him from leaving the field

Far from calming down, Moussa Marega let his anger explode. In the Guimaraes stadium, some individuals made racist insults against him. It is not a first in Europe, quite the contrary. But this time, the 28-year-old striker retaliated before saying stop.

🇵🇹 Exasperated, angry, not calmed by his teammates or by the words of his coach Sergio Conceiçao, Moussa Marega left the field in the 71st minute, under the bronca of the Guimaraes stadium, following racist shouts against him . pic.twitter.com/01EHDMkV4Q

His teammates and several Vitoria Guimaraes players tried to convince him, but his decision was made: Marega decided to leave the field. Under the whistles, the Malian, after several minutes of lively discussions with the protagonists on the lawn, asked to be replaced, while addressing thumbs down towards the stands.

Shocked by the attitude of these insulting supporters, the Porto coach, Sergio Conceiçao, shouted to them several times: " It's a shame! And before returning to the locker room at the 71st, Moussa Marega, mad with rage, sent fingers of honor to the stands where his attackers were.

"We are a family, regardless of nationality, skin color or hair color"

The Guimaraes incident once again revives the debate on what to do in the event of racist insults in stadiums. FC Porto, it is block behind his player. A few minutes after the end of the match, Sergio Conceiçao expressed his indignation at a press conference. The former coach of FC Nantes made a strong speech: “ We are a family, regardless of nationality, skin color or hair color. We are human and we deserve respect. What happened is lamentable. "

The technician continued, " We are completely outraged by what happened. I know there is a lot of passion at Vitoria Guimaraes (club he coached for four months between 2015 and 2016, note) and I believe that most of the supporters do not recognize themselves in the attitude of certain individuals who insulted Moussa since the warm-up. The attitude of the authorities, UEFA and Fifa in mind , will be followed in the coming hours after this umpteenth racist attack in European football.

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A publication shared by FC Porto (@fcporto) on Feb. 16. 2020 at 11:47 PST

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