Athletic Bilbao player Inaki Williams was the victim of racist screams. - Bagu Blanco / BPI / REX / SIPA

Athletic Bilbao player Inaki Williams said he was the victim of racist cries on Saturday during his trip to Espanyol Barcelona (1-1) for the 21st day of La Liga, an incident that caused reactions to the president of the Spanish government.

“I'm going a little sad, for the draw but especially because I was the victim of racist cries. This is something that a black player or player of any origin does not want to hear. It doesn't have to be at all, ”said Inaki Williams (25) at the club microphone after the match.

#LaPortada Basta ya de racismo #TodosSomosWilliams https://t.co/arcJEgcPHI

- MARCA (@marca) January 26, 2020

According to footage provided by Movistar La Liga, which was broadcasting the game, Williams was attacked by individuals when he left the field near the corner post in the 70th minute of the match. These individuals imitated monkey cries in the direction of the attacker, who answered them with "sons of p ..." before returning to his bench.

Espanyol promises to investigate

“We cannot continue to tolerate this kind of racist behavior. Football, sport, also have an educational role, and we must teach tolerance and respect, "reacted the president of the Spanish government Pedro Sanchez on social networks on Saturday evening.

Athletic Bilbao brought "all (its) support" to its player: "in the face of any racist insult, tolerance 0", the Basque club posted on Twitter. Espanyol also reacted: “The RCDE Espanyol strongly and explicitly condemns any form of racism on the football fields. The club is investigating racially motivated incidents by Iñaki Williams by a few individuals. All our support and solidarity, ”tweeted the Barcelona club.

" A step back "

La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation did not issue an official statement, but La Liga president Javier Tebas reacted on Twitter.

“Today, we have taken a step back in the work started years ago. The violent incidents of Barcelona and Valencia, the racist insults to Inaki Williams are doing a lot of damage to Spanish football, La Liga takes responsibility, we will seek with the clubs where the error lies, "wrote Tebas at the end of the afternoon. noon, also evoking the brief clashes between ultras at the gates of the Mestalla stadium that punctuated the pre-match between Valencia CF and FC Barcelona on Saturday.

Hoy hemos dado un paso atrás en el trabajo comenzado hace años, los incidentses violentos de Barcelona y Valencia, los insultos racistas a @ Williaaams45 hacen muchísimo daño a todo el fútbol español, @laliga asume su responsibilities, buscaremos con los clubes donde esta error .

- Javier Tebas Medrano (@Tebasjavier) January 25, 2020

The referee did not decide to stop the match between Bilbao and Espanyol Barcelona at Cornella on Saturday, unlike last December 16, where a Spanish second division match between Rayo Vallecano and Albacete had been suspended by the referee. with the agreement of the two clubs and of La Liga, for similar facts.

Part of the Rayo Vallecano supporters had chanted "Zozulya is a Nazi" in the first period, against the Ukrainian international center of Albacete Roman Zozulya, former Rayo.

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  • Athletic bilbao
  • Racism
  • Sport
  • Soccer
  • Liga