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Barcelona defender Alejandro Balde said he was racially abused by Getafe supporters during Saturday’s 1-1 draw at the Coliseum.
Balde, who is Black, revealed the incidents took place during the first half of the LaLiga fixture and that he advised the referee Pablo González Fuertes.
“I received several racists insults from the fans here,” the left-back said in a post-match interview with Movistar.
“It’s lamentable and something that should not keep happening. I advised the referee what had happened in the first half.
“He activated the league’s protocol in the second half, but I don’t know exactly how it works from there.”
LaLiga’s protocol allows a referee to stop a match if they observe racist behaviour or are alerted to the occurrence of a racist incident by a player.
An announcement is then broadcast over the stadium PA system, explaining why the game has been halted and adding that if the incidents continue the players will be taken off the pitch.
If, once they return, the behaviour does not desist, the fixture will be abandoned.
Barça coach Hansi Flick condemned the actions of those who insulted Balde.
“There is no space for this in football or in life,” Flick told a news conference.
“This is unbelievable. It’s totally wrong. They have to stay at home, not go to matches. We have to fight against them.
“Also, the people around them, they can also do something. At the end, it’s not the respect we want to live together.”
It was the second incident of racism reported in Spain on Saturday, with second division side Elche also saying defender Bambo Diaby suffered abuse during a 1-1 draw away at Sporting Gijón.
Elche said one alleged perpetrator had already been identified by local police in Gijón, while LaLiga also released a statement denouncing what had happened and saying they would file a case with the public prosecutor for hate crimes.
There have been multiple cases of racist insults against players in Spanish football in recent years, with Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior repeatedly targeted.
LaLiga and the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) have worked to combat racism in the game.
Last June, three Valencia fans were jailed for eight months for racially abusing Vinícius during a LaLiga game in May 2023, the first verdict of its kind in the country.
In September, a court then handed a 12-month suspended sentence to a Mallorca supporter that used racists insults against Vinícius and Villarreal‘s Samuel Chukwueze in February 2023.
A month later, Spain’s national police arrested four people responsible for a hate campaign against Vinícius.