Cheikh Sarr has criticised the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) for punishing him after standing up to the racist abuse he suffered in the Spanish third tier game between Rayo Majadahonda and Sestao on March 30th.
The Senegal goalkeeper was handed a two-game ban after he was shown a red card for confronting a Sestao fan who hurled racist insults at him while the game was abandoned after Sarr’s teammates walked off the pitch in protest.
It brought Spanish football back into the spotlight over constant racist abuse suffered by black players especially Real Madrid start Vinicius Junior.
Sarr believes the RFEF are not protecting players enough and are not defending them. He also claimed he would not have been punished if he was a Real Madrid player.
“If you’re ready to fight sufficiently against racism, you have to protect [the victim] and give him power,” Sarr told BBC World Service.
“If you sanction him, you’re not defending the cause.
“You have to punish the other team or the person in the stand throwing racist abuse.
“If I was playing for Real Madrid, I don’t think I would have been punished. Yes, the [players] are better known, but the penalties should be the same.”
Sarr asserted that he would walk away from the pitch again if he was subject to racist abuse in a bid to send a strong message across that racism is not acceptable in the game.
“I’ve learned a lot from this, but I don’t know how I would cope with it again,” he continued.
“I’m obviously not going to jump in the stands again. But I will stop playing. I’ll leave the pitch because racism is not acceptable.
“Football should be something that unites people. We should be a family.”
Sarr also praised Vinicius for the being a strong voice against Racism in Spanish football but stated that the Brazilian cannot do it all on his own.
“Vinicius is doing incredible work regarding racism in Spain. I want to thank him,”he explained.
“If every player like him took a stand, I’m not saying racism would stop but it’s going to be slowly erased. It would be less of a topic.
“He’s doing a remarkable job.
“He’s a generous man who knows what he wants. But one person can’t fight racism alone. He needs support.
“Racism has no place in the world and in the world of soccer.”
Vinicius’ teammate Aurelien Tchouameni was the latest player to suffer racist abuse during Real Madrid’s La Liga game at Mallorca at the weekend.
According to reports, Spanish police have identified the culprit as a child.
