Real Madrid’s Marcelo was allegedly the target of racial abuse from Atletico Madrid fans after the Copa del Rey match on Wednesday.
AS cites a report from the British Press in which Graham Hunter, a British journalist based in Spain, described the scenes as Marcelo took part in the post-match warm down.
“The reserve players from Madrid were out, running up and down, doing the warm-down and Marcelo was one of them,” Hunter told Sky Sports.
“Atletico fans were kept in the stadium, quite a common occurrence in England and Spain, and it was at that point they started to make monkey noises towards Marcelo.
“They echoed around the empty stadium and I think for all of us who love Spanish football, it's time for us to speak out against this.
“Marcelo turned hands on hips, looked up at them, way up at the top of the stands here, shook his head in bewilderment and didn't react.”
Hunter added that the abuse towards the Brazilian didn’t stop there.
“The monkey noises continued, louder and louder. It so happened the warm-down was finishing and a young child, who I take to be Marcelo's child, was on the sidelines and ran into his arms.
“The Atletico fans then sang 'Marcelo is a monkey' and also sang 'we hope your dad dies’.”
Madrid won a fractious game 3-0 but Hunter noted there was no lasting ill-feeling between the players.
“The game was rumbustious, it was a derby, but by the end the players all walked off and shook hands – it was all professional – and then there was the clear cut, unacceptable, exhibition of the type of racism some fans in Spain still think is acceptable.
"I don't want to pre-judge [any punishment]. There isn't a cultural awareness here that there is in Britain, I don't feel. There were only a few of us in the media gallery who were able to hear it.
"I'm not certain whether Marcelo will ask Real Madrid to act and demand action for this, but I hope by bringing it to the attention of the authorities…that they will begin to clamp down on fans, punish them and educate them."
