MADRID, Spain — Getafe will host its next three home games with a section of its stadium closed as a penalty for fans’ racial insults directed at an opposition player and coach during a recent Spanish league match.

Additionally, the Spanish soccer federation’s disciplinary committee announced on Wednesday that the club has been fined 27,000 euros.

The decision followed a brief halt in Saturday’s top-tier clash against Sevilla due to racial slurs aimed at Sevilla defender Marcos Acuña and coach Quique Sánchez Flores.

As part of the penalty, the sections of the stadium where the insults originated will remain closed for upcoming league matches against Real Sociedad, Athletic Bilbao, and Atletico Madrid. Season ticket holders in these sections will not be permitted to move to another area within the Coliseum Stadium.

In recent times, there has been a surge in racist abuse directed towards players during soccer matches in Spain, particularly targeting Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior. The Brazilian international, who is of Black descent, faced similar targeting last season as well.

Just last week, Spain faced Brazil in a 3-3 draw at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in a friendly match aimed at spotlighting the ongoing battle against racism, sparked by the previous season’s abuse directed at Vinícius.

Vinícius has been highly critical of the inability of soccer authorities to take effective action to protect him and other players.

On Saturday, a third-division match in Spain between Sestao River and Rayo Majadahonda came to a halt in the closing minutes when the goalkeeper of the visiting team was shown a red card for confronting a fan who allegedly racially abused him.

Rayo goalkeeper Cheikh Sarr, who is of Black ethnicity, was dismissed after approaching the stands behind his goal. He stated on Tuesday that he couldn’t tolerate the abuse and had never experienced such treatment in soccer before.

Similarly, the match between Getafe and Sevilla was interrupted in the 68th minute when Acuña, an Argentine world champion, was subjected to insults from fans, including being called a “monkey,” as per the match report.

Play resumed after spectators were warned against using racist or xenophobic language.

Following the match, Sánchez Flores, who has coached Getafe on three separate occasions, mentioned that his Roma heritage was insulted as well.
Sevilla emerged victorious with a 1-0 win.