Japanese player subjected to racism at Spanish league

The issue of racism has resurfaced in the Spanish league after an incident during a match between Real Sociedad B and Castellón in which Japanese defender Kazunari Kita was subjected to racist abuse.

According to Spanish radio station Cadena SER, Kita informed the referee that he had been subjected to racist abuse from Castellón defender Alberto Jiménez in the final minutes of the match.

The newspaper AS reported that the referee’s official report indicated that the Japanese player confirmed hearing the phrase ‘puto chino’, a racist slur meaning ‘dirty Chinese’, prompting the referee to activate the anti-racism protocol adopted by the Spanish league.

The match was stopped for a few minutes after the protocol was activated, before resuming and continuing until the end, with Real Sociedad winning the match 4-2.

Although the incident was noted in the match report, the referee explained that the refereeing team did not hear the phrase directly, but it was necessary to document the complaint based on the Japanese player’s statement, which may open the door to a disciplinary investigation into the incident.

This incident comes at a time when several racist incidents have occurred in Spanish stadiums in recent times.

In recent days, young Moroccan player Omar El Hilali was subjected to racist abuse during a match for his team Espanyol in the Spanish league.

The issue of racist chants against Brazilian Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior continues to recur in more than one stadium, raising questions about the effectiveness of measures taken to combat the phenomenon in Spanish football.

Featured image via Twitter