Female fans in Saudi Arabia ‘at risk’ after alleged ‘inappropriate touching’ at Supercopa – supporters’ group
Spain’s main football supporters’ association has warned of the “risk for female fans” in Saudi Arabia after the partners of Real Mallorca players alleged they were “harassed” during their Supercopa de Espana semi-final on Thursday.
Other fans, speaking to various Spanish outlets, allege women were “inappropriately touched without consent”.
Mallorca were defeated 3-0 by Real Madrid with Cristina Palavra and Natalia Kaluzova, the partners of Mallorca’s Dani Rodriguez and Dominik Greif respectively, among those making allegations about fans’ conduct after the match in Jeddah.
“We were with our children and there was no security,” Palavra told Esports IB3 after the match. “The truth is that the guys from this country (Saudi Arabia) started taking photos of us up close and harassed us. Natalia, Dominik Greif’s wife, was here too.” Palavra said they felt “disoriented because nobody was protecting us.”
Kaluzova told Marca of their attempts to leave the stadium: “A group of people came towards us and made videos of us, they pushed us, they insulted us in Arabic, they recorded us without consent and there were attacks.”
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Separately, Sergi Darder’s father Kike told Marca that those present experienced an “uncomfortable and unpleasant situation” and that the player’s families had behaved impeccably throughout the game.
“Nobody expected to be treated this way, especially the women,” Kike Darder said. “They are the ones who paid the price for the groping and the lack of respect towards the Mallorca fans.
“There were no security people nor anyone from the RFEF (Spanish Federation). I have no desire to come back here.”
Separately, Marca reported that Mallorca fans who wished to remain anonymous told them that female relatives of players were “groped and touched” inappropriately.
In an interview with Cadena Cope, Mallorca fan Pere — who attended the match — said: “Throughout the match, many of them (Saudi fans) were bothering us, making fun of us, provoking children and older people.”
He added that upon their exit from the stadium, the situation became worse: “Photos were taken without consent, fans were hit on the back of the head, but the worst thing was how the women were treated.
“The women were inappropriately touched, they had their photos taken…yes, they were inappropriately touched.”
In response to Pere’s interview and the testimony of the player’s families, the supporters’ association the Federation of Shareholders and Members of Spanish Football (FASFE) spoke out about the risks for female fans in Saudi Arabia.
Llevamos años deslocalizando nuestra #Supercopa a un país donde no se respetan derechos fundamentales y que suponen un riesgo para aficionados y, sobre todo, aficionadas desplazadas.
Cómo cada vez que tenemos ocasión, demandamos a la @RFEF que está sea la última vez. https://t.co/bnEqTD5Xjx
— FASFE (@FASFEaficion) January 10, 2025
“We’ve spent years relocating our Supercopa to a country where fundamental rights aren’t respected and which lead to a risk for male fans and, above all, for female fans who travel there.
“As we say at every opportunity, we demand to the RFEF (Spanish Football Federation) that this be the last time.”
Barcelona, who defeated Bilbao’s Athletic Club in Wednesday’s semi-final, will play Madrid in Sunday’s final in Jeddah.
The Supercopa has been held in Saudi Arabia since 2019-20, when it was expanded to a four-team tournament.
Sources close to the situation have said Mallorca and the RFEF are in communication and will take the matter to the local authorities.
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), the RFEF and Mallorca have been contacted for comment.
(Photo of Mallorca fans at Thursday’s game: Ismael Adnan Yaqoob/Anadolu via Getty Images)
