Senegalese goalkeeper Cheikh Sarr, from Rayo Majadahonda, in the third division of Spanish football, was punished this Wednesday with a two-game suspension, after being sent off for jumping into the stands to confront a fan who hurled racist insults.
Sarr received a red card in the match against Sestao River, which was suspended in the 42nd minute of the second half following the incident and Rayo Majadahonda’s decision to leave the field in protest.
The Single Competition Judge of the Spanish Football Federation admitted in his resolution published this Wednesday that Sarr was “serious offended”, but considered that the goalkeeper should have used the reporting channels to warn about the insults.
🚨Today at 2:00 p.m. our player Cheikh Sarr will give a press conference at the Oliva sports facilities exclusively to accredited media.
📩 For accreditations write an email to: [email protected]
— CF Rayo Majadahonda 🤍⚡️💙 (@RMajadahonda) April 2, 2024
“We give credence to the fact that the racist insults began in the 50th minute of the game and, therefore, should have been brought to the referee’s attention” so that the protocol against racism could be initiated, considered the Single Judge.
“The defense of his interests must be carried out by the offended player through the legal channels already described. Therefore, his actions, jumping into the stands and acting with certain violence – although it does not appear to have amounted to insult or aggression – is completely reprehensible”, adds the resolution.
“The angry performance continued when the referee showed him the red expulsion card, which forces us to consider him as the perpetrator of a minor infraction of conduct contrary to the sporting order”, explains the Judge.
This weekend, I won’t even play. But we had three despicable cases of racism in Spain this Saturday alone.
All my support for Acuña @AcunaMarcos17 and coach Quique Flores, of the @SevillaFC . To Sarr and @RMajadahonda May your bravery inspire others. The racists…
— Vini Jr. (@vinijr) March 30, 2024
The resolution also imposes a punishment on Sestao River, which will have to play its next two games at its stadium, where the incident took place, behind closed doors. Furthermore, the Judge decided that the result of the match is a 3-0 defeat for Rayo Majadahonda, who also had three points removed from the table.
Sarr said at a press conference on Tuesday that what he suffered “was something horrible, something I couldn’t handle, sadness, something very ugly”, but admitted that he won’t react in the same way if he goes through the same situation again: “I’ll know how to behave.”
Source: Gazetaesportiva

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