Jonica footballer targeted by racist insults: ‘I don’t understand this hatred’
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Cori razzisti, insulti, versi della scimmia. Jairo Allegria, a Colombian forward for Jonica, staged a blatant protest during a league match between his team and Città di Avola, which was winning 3-0 five minutes from the end. Insults were shouted from the away fans’ section. Allegria then sat down on the field and refused to continue playing. His teammates and coaching staff first tried to persuade him to carry on, then decided to leave the field in solidarity. The match, played in Santa Teresa Riva, in Messina, was part of the fifth round of the Eccellenza league. The incident is reported by the Gazzetta del Sud newspaper.
The club where the South American player is playing issued a statement of support on social media: “The club, in all its components, condemns and stigmatizes the racist chants, clearly coming from the away section and directed at our player Jairo Allegria. We express our solidarity with him. We have never accused the executives, the players of the opposing team, nor the people of Avola of racism. With the utmost respect, we invite all involved to lower the tone. We will refrain from engaging in social brawls in this perspective.”
Città di Avola responded with an official statement: “The game, intensively played and led 0-3 by our team, was not suspended at 85′, but abandoned by the local team, which received instructions from the club leadership after allegedly hearing racist insults. If it did happen, we strongly distance ourselves from this isolated gesture. However, using a delicate and complex issue like racism to mask responsibilities and defeat is unsportsmanlike and equally intolerable.”
The police have identified the perpetrators of the racist chants. This week, the sporting judge of the amateur national league in Sicily will decide whether to validate the result or not, mainly based on the referee report by Luigi Canicattì from Agrigento.
Meanwhile, the Jonica player reiterated: “They were insulting me and making monkey noises. Things like this should never happen in football, I am deeply saddened, but I didn’t feel like continuing, I don’t understand the reason for this hatred and provocation. I had never received such treatment before.”
Jairo Luis Alegría Flores, born in 1998, is in his second stint at Jonica, one of the most multicultural teams in Sicilian football, where he played a few years ago. The team in Santa Teresa Riva, Messina, includes players from Argentina, Armenia, Macedonia, Romania, Denmark, and Brazil.
Previously, the forward played, at an amateur level, for Bodale in Calabria, after a stint in the Dominican Republic’s league, with Atletico Vega Real. His football career had never been tainted by racist insults until yesterday.
Il calciatore della Jonica bersagliato da insulti razzisti: «Non capisco questo odio»
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