Spanish FA open investigation into Juan Cala over alleged racial abuse of Valencia’s Mouctar Diakhaby

At a fiery press conference on Tuesday, Cala denied racially abusing Diakhaby

Richard Martin
Wednesday 07 April 2021 13:16 EDT
Comments
Cadiz player Juan Cala (left)
Cadiz player Juan Cala (left) (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Spanish football federation has confirmed it has opened an investigation into Cadiz defender Juan Cala after he was accused of racially abusing Valencia’s Mouctar Diakhaby in last Sunday’s La Liga match.

The federation did not provide any more details on the investigation or say when a resolution would be announced.

Diakhaby on Tuesday called for Cala to be sanctioned for making the racial slur, which the Spanish player denies making.

Cala, 31, said in a fiery news conference on Tuesday that he had said “leave me in peace” to Diakhaby during the 2-1 win and that the French defender had misinterpreted what was said.

Valencia’s players walked off the pitch and wanted to abandon the game but eventually resumed playing without Diakhaby, who asked to be substituted.

Read more:

Cala returned to the play the remainder of the first half before he then was substituted at half-time.

Reuters

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in