Following the recent Vinicius Junior-Gianluca Prestani case, a second La Liga player has now accused a professional of racial discrimination. The alleged incident took place at the Manuel Martinez Valero Stadium, where Elche and Espanyol played out a 2-2 draw on Sunday afternoon.
In the second half, play was suspended when Omar El Hilali informed referee Iosu Galech Apezteguía that Rafa Mir had made an anti-immigration slur against him. According to “Diario AS”, the incident was mentioned in the referee’s report released after the game.
advertise
“In the 78th minute, Espanyol’s number 23, Omar El Hilali, told me that Elche’s number 10, Rafael Mir Vicente, said the following words to him: ‘You came by boat,’ and no member of the refereeing staff could hear these words. Therefore, I started activating the anti-racism protocol and that’s why the game was suspended for three minutes.”
Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images
La Liga will now launch an investigation into the matter now that they have received the referee’s report and minutes of the meeting. They will seek to analyze the testimony of players and coaches, both affected and witnesses to the incident. In addition, images and recordings of the match will be used to analyze the events between El Hilali and Mir.
advertise
Manolo Gonzalez responds – ‘It’s a racist insult’
After the game, Espanyol head coach Manolo Gonzalez fully supported El Hilali in an interview with the media.
“I know it was a racist insult. Omar never stopped playing; I knew it was going to be true. I’m not sure what happened, but from what I understand it was Rafa Mir who said something to him. The referee told us he applied anti-racism protocols.
“Just as racism has to come from football and society, it’s not just that: all insults. We focus on racism, that’s very important, but there are a lot of insults in football that need to be eradicated. They create very unpleasant situations.”
