Spanish football team Valencia CF left the field in the first half of a La Liga match on Sunday after defender Mouctar Diakhaby allegedly dealt with racist abuse by the home team, Cadiz. The visitors ended up returning, without Diakhaby, to end the game.
On 29 minutes, with the teams tied at 1 to 1, Diakhaby and Juan Cala, from Cádiz, exchanged words. The situation heated up and Diakhaby had to be restrained by players from both teams. After the game, Valencia captain José Luis Gayà told Spanish network Movistar that “Diakhaby told us he heard a racist insult”.
Diakhaby received a yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct during the game interruption. After pleading his case to the referee, he left the field. His companions followed him, led by Gaya. Cadiz also moved away.
About 20 minutes later, Valencia issued a statement saying it would return to the game:
“The team got together and decided to fight for the badge again, but firmly in condemning racism in all its forms,” said the tweet in Spanish. A follow-up tweet repeated support for Diakhaby’s actions.
The players resumed the field and resumed the game after a five-minute warm-up. Diakhaby was replaced by Hugo Guillamon, with the defender following the rest of the game from the stands. Cala finished the first half, but was eliminated during the break. Cadiz would win 2-1.
In a post-game video interview, Gayà said the entire team was behind Diakhaby: “We support him at all times. We did what he told us.”
Manager Javi Gracia also expressed support for Diakhaby’s actions. “I told the fourth referee that, during what happened, we protected the attacked player from further damage and that we did not understand that the player who caused the problem could still take the field,” he said in a statement.
“What worried me the most was the state of my player. If he had told us he didn’t think we should play, we wouldn’t have played – at the risk of whatever happened. When he said to come back, I was forced to take the decision to continue playing. We came back with Diakhaby’s shirt on the bench and with the intention of dedicating the victory to him ”.
A longer statement from Valencia later clarified that “The club did not ask the players to return to the pitch. The referee informed the players of the consequences of not returning to the field of play. The players, forced to play under the threat of penalty after the insults racists and the yellow card to Diakhaby, decided to return to the field. “
Valencia also said that Diakhaby personally “asked his teammates to return to the pitch to continue the game. They respected his wish”.
Cadiz shared a statement after the match condemning racism and xenophobia.
“The club cannot comment on incidents that arise between players during the game and always demands respect and responsibility from its players in their attitude towards opponents,” said the team.
Cala has not yet responded.
“It is unfortunate that this kind of thing is still happening in football and a solution has to be found,” said Gayà of the incidents of racism in the sport.