The Spanish soccer league (LFP) on Thursday announced it had reported RCD Espanyol to the country’s anti-violence commission for racist chanting aimed at Barcelona star Neymar during the sides’ 0-0 draw on Saturday last week.
According to the report, monkey chants were aimed at Neymar after he had been flagged offside in the 14th minute.
The anti-violence commission is to decide if any action is to be taken against Espanyol, with possible sanctions ranging from a fine to part or full closure of their Estadi Cornella-El Prat.
Photo: Reuters
“I haven’t listened to the chants, I don’t listen to things off the field, I just play football,” Neymar said on Monday.
Former Barca presidential candidate Toni Freixa was on Saturday first to condemn the chanting when he posted on his official Twitter account: “I hope the racist chanting towards Neymar is reflected in the referee’s report.”
Yet, there was no mention of it in Jose Luis Gonzalez’s report and Barca boss Luis Enrique refused to comment on the incident afterward.
Espanyol president Joan Collet claimed the chants recorded were not monkey noises, but chants used most often in recent months by opposition fans to mock Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo’s over-effusive celebration at winning last year’s Ballon d’Or.
“These chants of ‘uh, uh, uh’ I hear every Sunday, above all with Cristiano, and they are not interpreted in any way as monkey chanting,” he told the Barcelona daily Sport.
“If it was like that, we would go for those that have to be sanctioned, but it would need to be shown that it was monkey chanting and it wasn’t,” he added.
The claims are just the latest fallout from two bad-tempered derbies between the sides in the past five days.
Espanyol had two men sent off as Barca gained revenge for dropping points over the weekend with a 4-1 win in the first leg of their Copa del Rey last-16 tie on Wednesday.
However, Barcelona’s Luis Suarez could be handed up to a three-game ban after he was cited in the referee’s report for aggressively confronting Espanyol players in the tunnel after Wednesday’s match.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care