Getafe hit with three-match partial stadium closure after racist abuse of Sevilla’s Marcos Acuna
Getafe’s stadium will be partially closed for three matches after Sevilla player Marcos Acuna was subjected to racist abuse during Saturday’s La Liga match between the two teams.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) competition committee has also handed Getafe a €27k fine following the incident.
Saturday’s 1-0 win for Sevilla was stopped in the 68th minute and delayed for two and a half minutes after ‘monkey’ chants were directed towards Sevilla’s Acuna, 32.
The offence contravenes the competition committee’s article 69.2.d in which “violent, racist, xenophobic and intolerant acts and behaviour in football” are analysed.
Under the provision of article 57.1 of the RFEF’s disciplinary code, Getafe are required to “identify the area of the stadium which, according to the referee’s report, would coincide with the central area of the pitch behind the position of the assistant referee” to which the chants came, by Wednesday at 4pm (local time).
The area identified of Getafe’s 16,500-capacity Estadio Coliseum will then be closed for three matches and supporters “cannot be relocated” into other areas of the ground. Furthermore, “the closed area must display a visible message condemning violent, racist, xenophobic and intolerant acts and behaviours”.
Sevilla’s Acuna was targeted with ‘monkey’ chants against Getafe (Jose Manuel Alvarez/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
Referee Iglesias Villanueva initiated the league’s protocol for tackling racism when he was informed, with his post-match report stating that Acuna had been targeted with ‘monkey’ chants from a section of the home support.
Meanwhile, Sevilla coach Quique Sanchez Flores — who has managed Getafe three times, most recently between October 2021 and April 2023 — alleged that he was racially abused during the match after he stated he was called a “gypsy” by home fans.
“I’m proud, with every inch of my body, to be a gypsy,” Sanchez Flores said after the game. “But it’s one thing being a gypsy, or having gypsy heritage, and another thing for it to be used as a racist insult. That seems abnormal to me.”
The referees’ report did not mention Sanchez Flores’ allegations and neither the stadium closure nor fine relate to the alleged comments towards the head coach.
“We condemn the racist and xenophobic abuse suffered by Marcos Acuna and our coaching staff during Getafe vs Sevilla,” a Sevilla statement after the match read.
GO DEEPER
Brazil and Spain’s anti-racism match: Vinicius Jr disappointed and no money to charity
(Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
