Valencia have tweeted Diakhaby “received a racial insult” before he and his teammates left the field
Valencia’s players walked off the pitch during their La Liga game with Cadiz on Sunday after Mouctar Diakhaby claimed he was racially abused by an opponent.
The game was little over half an hour old when it became clear that Diakhaby had been angered by Juan Cala, with the pair seen exchanging words as play continued around them.
The French defender had to be held back by teammates, with Valencia’s team opting to walk off the field of play soon after.
The Valencia team has walked off the pitch after an altercation between Mouctar Diakhaby and Juan Cala, with the French defender visibly angry at what was said.
🎥 @PremierSportsTV pic.twitter.com/iXCo1UZYHW
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) April 4, 2021
Play did eventually restart, but Diakhaby did not return to the field when it did: replaced by Hugo Guillamón.
Reports have claimed Diakhaby was devastated by the incident, but gave his blessing for his teammates to continue the game without him.
A tweet from Valencia confirmed the walk-off had been over an alleged racist insult.
“The team have held a meeting and decided to continue the game, in order to fight for the honour of the club, but denounce racism of any kind,” the tweet read.
“We offer our complete backing to @Diakhaby_5.
“The player, who had received a racial insult, requested that his teammates return to the pitch. WE SUPPORT YOU MOUCTAR.”
We offer our complete backing to @Diakhaby_5
The player, who had received a racial insult, requested that his teammates return to the pitch.
WE SUPPORT YOU MOUCTAR
𝗡𝗢 𝗧𝗢 𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗜𝗦𝗠 ✊🏽✊🏿 pic.twitter.com/iPtPSpdNYv
— Valencia CF (@valenciacf_en) April 4, 2021
Juan Cala was also taken off at half-time, replaced by Marcos Gutiérrez.
