There’s no place for this in football, or anywhere else for that matter.
Homophobic abuse directed at Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo during Saturday’s El Clasico game with Barcelona has led to a Spanish gay rights group submitting a formal complaint with the country’s Violence in Sport commission.
Real ended Barca’s record of 39 games undefeated with a 2-1 win at Camp Nou, with Ronaldo scoring a fine winner. But it is alleged that the home crowd singled out the Portuguese for homophobic abuse throughout the game.
The crowd were heard chanting “maricion” at Ronaldo, a derogatory term to describe a gay man. There were also shouts of “Vete a Marruecos”, or “Go to Morocco”, in reference to the player’s regular breaks to see friends in the North African country.
The Spanish Observatory against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender phobia have filed a report to the State Commission against Violence in Sport over the Barca fans’ behaviour.
Director Francisco Ramirez hopes that the vile chants can be punished via legal action, and stressed that the homophobic abuse was unacceptable regardless of Ronaldo’s sexual orientation.
“Cristiano Ronaldo has been the continued object of insults and malicious rumours regarding his sexual orientation from journalists, players and fans of rival teams in order to humiliate, offend and denigrate a great football player.
“It is necessary to clarify that homophobia does not necessarily mean that people who suffer are homosexual, but only that other people believe it or use it to insult, harass and humiliate others.”
