Racist insults halt a friendly football match between YouTubers in Spain

The "Partidazo de YouTubers" between Spain and France was halted for fifteen minutes due to racist insults.
Text: Javier Escribano
Published 2024-10-25

Racism is a scourge in football, and not only at the professional level. On October 12, during the fifth "Partidazo de YouTubers", a friendly match held in Madrid between Spanish and French YouTubers, racist insults almost caused the cancellation of the match mid-game.

During the second half of the match, a French player went straight to the spectators, outraged. One spectator had been making monkey gestures to mock the player. Other French players joined him in the protests, telling the referees it wasn't an isolated event, and left the field.

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One of Spanish players, Koko, was also seen crying due to the situation. The match was stopped for fifteen minutes but later resumed, as the captains of each team and the referee talked and agreed to finish the match.

The perpetrator of the insults was found and expelled, and through the speakers the organisers asked for respect. The match resumed and ended in local victory, 2-0 with goals by popular YouTuber Robledo y DJMariio from the penalty spot.

This is the second something like this happens at that stadium this month

As all major leagues were currently halted due to the Nations League, the match took place at the Atlético de Madrid's Riyadh Air Metropolitano, hosting thousand of spectators.

Even with different circumstances, something similar happened in that field two weeks earlier, in a match between Atlético and Real Madrid that was stopped for fifteen minutes due to ultras throwing objects at Real Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois. Atlético de Madrid is one of Spain's few clubs that still allows ultras in its stadium.

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