Cheikh Kane Sarr has been the involuntary protagonist of Spanish football this weekend. The Rayo Majadahonda goalkeeper reacted to the racist insults that were 'dedicated' to him from the stands of the Las Llanas de Sestao stadium this Saturday, during the match between Sestao River and Rayo Majadahonda of the First Federation, and which ended with his expulsion and the withdrawal of his team from the match. The Madrid team's goalkeeper confronted a small group of fans who were following the game behind his goal after conceding a goal and after hearing expressions during the game such as “fucking monkey” and “fucking black man.”
The goalkeeper, born in Dakar, was sent off for jumping the perimeter fence of the Sestao field, leaving the field of play and grabbing one of the fans who insulted him before being restrained by his teammates. After seeing the red card he turned against the referee and Rayo Majadahonda refused to continue playing after that racist incident and the match was suspended. Both the goalkeeper, who can be left without playing from four to twelve games according to the Federation's disciplinary code. as the club are exposed to a harsh sanction.
Now Cheikh Kane Sarr has broken his silence and in statements to 'El Partidazo' on Cadena COPE and 'El Mundo' he has confessed that “in the second half when we changed fields, I already started to notice some screams. In the 50th minute they started making monkey, ape sounds. In '82, after conceding the second goal, I went to get water to drink. Then I heard everything: »Fucking black, fucking black«. Before this there were many other people who insulted, not only me, they also insulted the Spanish, many people. But then I heard this man.
“I grabbed him by the scarf but I didn't want to attack him”
The Rayo Majadahonda goalkeeper acknowledged that when he decided to go up to the stands to grab the fan who was insulting him, he had no intention of attacking him: “I couldn't take it anymore. He was very nervous. He had heard the screams. I'm in Ramadan…” «I wanted to ask him why he treated me like that, whether or not he had a family and could understand me. I had no intention of attacking him at all, at all. That's why I grabbed him by the scarf. How was I going to hit him? I have never attacked anyone. If they sanction me, this will be the first sanction I have in my life,” he continued with the story.
Sarr has confessed that he has received the support of his teammates during the hours that followed and at the moment when he went up to ask the stands for explanations. «When I tried to talk to this man who had insulted me, they came and pushed me. That's when my colleagues arrived. They have done a lot for me these days and have treated me with affection, also at the club, everyone,” he acknowledged.
The arbitration performance
What the Rayo Majadahonda goalkeeper does not understand is the referee's actions, because “it cannot be that someone who is insulted and suffers is also punished.” «I don't know what will happen with the Competition Committee's decision, but I would like them to think about this. No one who is insulted can be punished for reacting. I insist. “It wasn't violence, it was wanting to talk.” Furthermore, the goalkeeper confessed that “the referee didn't even come up to ask me what had happened. How can that be? Honestly, I thought the first thing he was going to do was protect me, but no. What he did was expel me.
Vinicius and his support
Sarr did want to acknowledge the support he has received from Vinicius: «I will go to death for him because he has lived it. There is no sense that there is racism. I'm very proud of him. I thank you for supporting me. I have thanked him for his Instagram post about him. And Rayo Majadahonda's goalkeeper goes further by acknowledging that “if all black players were like Vinicius, racism would end.”
What Sarr does not believe is that Spain is racist, although he did recognize that “there is racism in all countries, but that does not mean that the countries are racist as a whole.” “It is those people who must be removed from the fields and punished in society and protect those of us who may have suffered it,” he says in clear reference to what happened this weekend in Sestao and also in other Spanish football matches. .
He would forgive the fan who insulted him
The Rayo Majadahonda goalkeeper acknowledged that the decision to withdraw the team on Saturday after what happened “was the captain's decision and I thank him very much.” «He didn't talk about it with me, but at that moment I couldn't even speak, I didn't understand it. I wouldn't have wanted to continue playing if they hadn't expelled me. “I didn't make an aggressive gesture, I went to talk to him.” And when asked if he would forgive the fan who insulted him, Sarr was sincere when he pointed out that “everything in life can be forgiven; You have to have guts to ask for forgiveness. The truth: he would forgive him. From the bottom of my heart, I would forgive him.
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