The match of the 21st round of the Portuguese Primera, in which Vitoria Guimaraes hosted the Porto, was marked by a scandal. The black striker Moussa Marega was racist insulted by local fans, and the head coach of the guests, Sergiu Conceisau, had to replace the ward, as he refused to continue the meeting.
The incident occurred in the 60th minute of the game, immediately after Marega pushed the defender after a pass from a partner from the depth of field and sent the winning ball into the opponent’s net. During the goal celebration, the footballer showed his hand several times, hinting at his skin color. Then the seats flew into the field from the side of the home stands, and the frustrated fans began to imitate the hoot of monkeys.
Some witnesses of the incident claimed that fans allowed themselves to display racism against the Malian before the starting whistle, but the situation after the goal was the last straw for him. The forward appealed to the chief referee Luis Godinho, but he not only did not try to calm the stands, but also showed the striker a yellow card for unsportsmanlike behavior.
Then the match was resumed, but the insults did not stop. After another stop, Marega headed towards the sidewalk. Port partners, the coaching staff, and then the rivals tried to persuade the striker to stay on the field, but he was adamant.
Marega abandona o relvado no D. Afonso Henriques contra a vontade de colegas e equipa técnica # LigaNOS # VSCFCP
🎥⏱ https://t.co/q8tCRvjMxSpic.twitter.com/vRd7LfTtme
Conceisau had no choice but to replace Marega with Wilson Manaf. Leaving the field, the forward continued the dialogue with the fans of Vitoria in elevated tones and addressed them an indecent gesture.
Immediately after the incident, the football player turned to the fans who insulted him on social networks, calling them idiots. In addition, he sharply criticized the actions of the arbitrators.
“I would also like to thank the judges for not protecting me and giving me a yellow card for protecting my skin color. I hope that I will never see you again on the football field. You are a shame, ”Marega wrote on Instagram.
At the same time, he defended his teammates, including the Brazilian midfielder “Porto” Otavio, as many decided that by their actions they did not allow him to show a position towards racism.
“This is my brother, and as a brother, he was just trying to calm me down. I know that he supports me, ”added the Malian.
"We are deeply outraged"
In the Portuguese championship, such incidents do not occur so often, and therefore the behavior of Vitoria fans has caused bewilderment and a wave of indignation throughout the country. Representatives of the league assured that the perpetrators will suffer the deserved punishment.
“Primera does not support and will never support acts of racism, xenophobia or intolerance that threaten the dignity of football players or other people. We will do our best to ensure that this and all other racist incidents do not go unpunished. We believe that club colors do not matter in this fight, and we all must unite in order to eradicate this evil in football, ”the tournament’s press service said.
The “Port” also did not blame Marega for the fact that he refused to continue the match. Conseisau emphasized that discrimination on any grounds was unacceptable.
“We are a family regardless of citizenship, skin color and hair. We are people, we deserve respect. What happened is regrettable, and we are deeply outraged. I know the passion with which the fans relate to Vitoria, and I think that most of them do not associate themselves with those who insulted Moussa right from the warm-up, ”the Guardian quoted Conseisau as saying.
His colleagues did not stay away from the incident with the striker. On social networks, they continue to express words of support and post his photos with an appeal to combat racism. The ex-striker of the Moscow “Spartak” Ze Luis, now playing for the “Port”, dedicated a teammate post on his page on social networks.
“We're all rowing together, brother, to the same shore,” wrote The Luis.
View this Instagram post
Publication by Zeluis (@ zeluis_9) Feb 16, 2020 @ 12:26 pst
Marega was supported by other teams, including Braga, Dortmund Borussia, and even Porto's principal rival, the Lisbon Sporting.
Despite the fact that the president of Vitoria, Miguel Pinto Lishboa, said that he had not heard racist cries, and the head coach Ivo Vieira did not even comment on what had happened until all the circumstances were clarified, the club was assured that they took this issue very seriously and intended to hold investigation.
A French football student Marega moved to the Portuguese championship five years ago, but during this time he did not face such serious insults against him. He is well known to fans not only of Porto, but also of Vitoria. In 2016, the striker on a leasehold joined the team from Guimaraes. For the year he scored 13 goals and the following summer returned to the camp of 28-time champions of Portugal.