LaLiga has announced through its social networks that this Monday it will report to the Delegate Prosecutor for Hate Crimes in Madrid the racist chants uttered yesterday about Nico Williams at the Cívitas Metropolitano. The referee’s report Martínez Munuera recorded “a sound imitating a monkey ‘uh, uh'” coming from the south end of the Atlético de Madrid stadium during the match against Athletic Club, when Nico Williams was going to take a corner kick in the first time.
This is another episode of racism against one of the Williams brothers, who have already suffered more in the past. In this case, the referee Juan Martínez Munuera stopped the game for a few moments on the verge of the 40th minute after Nico Williams complained of having received an insult, presumably racist, when he was about to take a corner, and a message was broadcast over the public address system against the “offensive chants.”
The match then continued with the development of the game, without further interruptions, until halftime. “Nico Williams speaks on the field,” Athletic published on its social networks after the insults received by its player. “Atlético is against any act of racism or hatred,” the Madrid entity wrote on its social networks.
At first, LaLiga condemned some events that it later decided to denounce. “There is no place in sport for racist or hateful acts. LALIGA firmly condemns any gesture of racism and will continue working until these intolerable behaviors are eradicated from our sport,” LaLiga said.
For his part, Nico Williams, a winger for Athletic Club, explained that he heard “monkey sounds”, remarked that “there are stupid people everywhere” and assured that “it is not normal that they still insult you because of your skin tone.” “I went to take the corner and I heard monkey sounds. The truth is that there have been few. There are stupid people everywhere. Nothing happens. We have to keep working. We hope this changes little by little. We are fighting internal and external against that. And that is what it is,” he said in statements to ‘Dazn’. Nico celebrated his subsequent goal with “a little anger.” “It is not normal that they still insult you because of your skin tone,” said the Spanish international.
Diego Simeone, coach of Atlético de Madrid, considered the racist insults “a social problem, not the stadium” and hoped that it would “improve” in that sense, “but it depends on everyone.” “It is a social problem. It is not a stadium problem. If we can improve in life, we will improve in the settings where there are people. I hope it improves, but it depends on everyone,” he declared at a press conference after the match. .
For his part, Ernesto Valverde, Athletic Club coach, explained that Nico Williams was “calm” and said that this type of situation is “a matter of education.” “The player was calm. It is something that we all regret, that we do not like to see it anywhere or that it happens to any player. We must take a step in the matter of education and not think that people come to the field to I don’t know that, except to enjoy a show that some players put on on the field, I don’t quite understand the rest,” he said at a press conference.
“It is an issue of education. It is true that it has been an issue with Nico, but when they tell anyone that we are in the field… I have heard everything and they have told me everything in many fields, with racist overtones, others of another nature. People believe that they go to the stadium to vent their frustrations with the referee, the player in front of them, their own player… When I look back at some of what they say, I don’t quite understand it,” he said.
The report of referee Martínez Munuera recorded “a sound imitating a monkey ‘uh, uh'” coming from the south end of the Cívitas Metropolitano stadium. “In approximately the 36th minute of the match, when the game was to be resumed with a corner kick in favor of Athletic Club, a sound imitating a monkey ‘UH, UH’ was heard from the south end, being heard by the assistant referee. number one, at the same time as Athletic Club’s number 11, Nico Williams,” he tells the minutes. “At that precise moment the anti-racism protocol was activated, indicating to the Atlético de Madrid delegate that the match could not be resumed until it was communicated over the public address system that these attitudes had to stop and that, if they were repeated, we should stop again. but this time everyone entering the locker room,” added the referee. “A minute later it was announced over the public address system, resuming the match again,” he explained.
