Neymar Allegedly Subjected to Racist Comments
While Andres Iniesta insisted that Neymar was subjected to racist comments, defender Gerard Pique said he had not seen or heard anything abusive but called for punishment to the people if they had done it.
FC Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta has confirmed that his teammate and Brazilian football star Neymar was subjected to alleged racist comments in a La Liga encounter against Espanyol. (F.C. Barcelona Held to a Goalless Draw by Espanyol)
Barcelona were held to a goalless draw by the Catalan side on Saturday at Espanyol's home ground, the Estadi cornella-el prat. (Read More in Football)
"In one corner, in the first half, from one supporter (about the racist chants)," ace midfielder Iniesta was quoted as saying by espnfc.com.
Defender Gerard Pique said he had not seen or heard anything abusive but called for punishment to the people if they had done it.
"If that happened, obviously they should be charged and the correct measures taken," Pique said.
"Those who did it are responsible, not the Espanyol fans (in general). They should be identified and singled out one by one," he added.
Former Barcelona president Toni Freixa wrote on his Twitter account about the incident, and said he hoped the racist chants at forward Neymar made it to the referee's report.
"I hope that the racist chants at Neymar are included in the referee's report," the tweet from Freixa said.
However, the referee made no mention of any misconduct from the crowd in his official report.