Football
Racism at Atlético: Nico Williams refused to play a corner, even his own fans complain
When the result doesn’t fully satisfy either camp of fans. Atlético Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to move closer to Champions League certainty. But his and the Basque club’s fans have been rather critical on social media.
When the result doesn’t fully satisfy either camp of fans. Atlético Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to move closer to Champions League certainty. But his and the Basque club’s fans are rather critical on social media.
As expected, the clash between Atlético and Bilbao was very even and cautious. The first real chance came in the 15th minute and ended immediately with a goal from Rodrigo de Paula. Madrid scored the two key goals after the change of sides.
Playing for the Top 4 is not enough
Playing at home, Atleti were the favourites for the match, but they didn’t impress with their performance. The first goal was downright lucky, the ball under the crossbar was helped by the bar, the goalkeeper couldn’t do anything about it afterwards. The third shot was scored by goalkeeper Unai Simon all by himself.
Once Diego Simeone’s charges were in the lead, they relied on the tried and tested tactic of maintenance, which paid off again this time.
Atlético thus increased their lead on fifth place to six points, but likely Champions League participation for next season is not enough for the fans.
“Europe’s highest paid coach, aiming to qualify for the Champions League. It’s really funny,” a Rafiq supporter alluded to the fact that Simeone earns a third more than the second highest paid Pep Guardiola in a liked comment under Atlético’s Instagram post.
Winning in the shadow of racism
Perhaps more than the celebratory comments, however, criticism of the behaviour of some Atlético fans is rife on social media. Indeed, the match had to be stopped for a while in the first half when visiting player Nico Williams was racially abused at the corner flag.
“You are a world-famous club that promotes racism. Congratulations,” wrote fan Bernard. It was a reminder of the situation when Nico Williams refused to play a corner because of racist remarks he heard from the stands. The main referee resolved the situation with Simeon and after a few minutes the game could continue. In any case, this topic continues to live on social media.
Source: LaLiga, Atlético Madrid – Instagram
