Real Madrid center back Eder Militao put in another masterful performance on Matchweek 19 against Getafe, but the win for his club was marred by racist abuse from a Getafe player.
Racism has always been a massive problem globally, and football has never been any exception. There are some people, like Rafael Benitez, who choose to put blinders on and pretend that racism is not a problem in Spanish football, but it’s always been an issue. Samuel Eto’o, for example, can attest to this.
And on Matchweek 19 at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez against rivals Getafe, a Real Madrid player reportedly suffered racist abuse by a player from Getafe. Usually, it’s the fans who use slurs towards Black players, but, this time, it was another player on the pitch.
According to reports from Carrusel and Miguel Ángel Díaz of COPE, via Infinite Madrid on Twitter and LieaJa, Getafe defender Marc Cucurella told Eder Militao to “Shut up, you f—–g monkey” during the game. A screenshot of the possible incident was provided.
The next step would be for Real Madrid to report this abuse to the Spanish FA and see if anything can be done to suspend Cucurella. Hopefully, they can find some definitive evidence, and, if not, they side with Eder Militao if he chooses to come out with this story.
It’s important to note that we’ve only heard reports. We haven’t heard anything directly from Militao. But surely, something is up, otherwise reliable reporters in Spain would not have caught wind of this racist incident on the pitch from the Los Merengues’ dressing room
Cucurella has released a statement denying the claims that he was racist towards Militao, claiming he told the Brazil international “close your mouth”.
Me gustaría aclarar que en ningún momento he insultado ni descalificado a Militao. Mis palabras han sido "Cierra el p... pico".
— Marc Cucurella (@cucurella3) January 4, 2020
Pido perdón si alguien se ha sentido ofendido por ello. Estas son las únicas declaraciones que he hecho y que voy a hacer al respecto.
Gracias.
In the replies, fans provided screenshots of Cucurella using racist slurs on Instagram. Some will defend the player by saying he was speaking of friends, but there is no place for anyone who isn’t Black to use that word.
We’ll have to keep a close eye on what happens going forward. Assuming Real reports this incident now that it’s out there in the media, there will be an investigation. Unfortunately, it’s rare to see proper punishments handed out, as football associations have enough issues dealing with racism from fans. From a player? Hopefully, the right decision comes out.
But above all else, we can only hope Militao is doing OK. Suffering from racist abuse is horrible, and the football pitch is supposed to be a safe haven for players, so it’s shocking for someone to deal with racism when they are trying to bring joy to others. I hope Real Madrid and Militao’s teammates offer him all the support he needs, and the fan base needs to also stand by him.