FC Barcelona on Wednesday condemned racist insults uttered against its Nigerian player James Nnaji before the final of the Spanish Basketball Championship, which the Catalan club won in the hall of Real Madrid. “FC Barcelona strongly condemns the racist insults suffered by first-team basketball player James Nnaji, before match number 3 of the final,” Barça wrote in a statement. “The club, which has already reported to the organizers of the competition what happened, expects a firm and exemplary response from the ACB (Spanish Basketball League) against any racial or verbal insult”, continues the Catalan club.
Supporting videos
Footage of the FC Barcelona coach arriving at the WiZink Center in Madrid, where the match was taking place, shows several Madrid fans hurling insults at the Barcelona players. According to the local press, Nnaji was the subject of racist insults. “I want to talk about what happened here with James Nnaji, I think it’s a regrettable thing. I hear a lot about Vinicius (the Brazilian footballer from Real Madrid), and now it’s us who have to talk about what’s going on,” Barcelona coach Sarunas Jasikevicius said after the game.
“It has to stop now. It doesn’t fit, I guess, with the values of Real Madrid and its supporters, and we have to be very angry about that,” he added. Footballer Vinicius Jr has been the victim of racist insults several times. The latest incident dates back to a match played in Valencia on May 23, which sparked an outcry and sparked a wave of support for Real Madrid’s Brazilian striker.
On the floor, FC Barcelona won its 20th Spanish league title on Tuesday evening by winning 93-82 in the Real hall, after winning the first two matches of the final.