Atletico Madrid to appeal stadium ban for racial abuse towards Nico Williams

Atletico Madrid will appeal their stadium ban after they were punished for racial abuse towards Athletic Club winger Nico Williams. On Tuesday it was decided by La Liga that Los Rojiblancos would be fined €20k and face the partial closure of the Fondo Sur – where the far-right ultra group Frente Atletico tend to be based – for the next two games. Many of the same fans proceeded to whistle Williams for the rest of the match too.

Those clashes against Osasuna and Celta Vigo would see Atletico end the season with that ban, but Atletico will appeal the decision, as per Cadena SER. Los Colchoneros made the case that they helped identify the culprit, followed protocol and co-operated fully, and therefore should not see their other fans punished for the act. They also allege that La Liga have not followed the usual protocol.

🚨 Atlético Madrid’s response to La Liga’s punishment: “The action of a single individual cannot trigger the punishment of thousands of fans who have not committed any infraction, besides, the established protocol by FIFA has been followed in these cases. The police have… pic.twitter.com/IU0eCPg8Ku

— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) April 30, 2024

However the same outlet explain that Atletico’s case may not be subject to the same process as the ban that occurred with Getafe, where they appealed and saw their ban voided for racial abuse towards Sevilla’s Marcos Acuna. The reason being, the racial abuse was recorded in the referee’s report, and thus taken as the truth of the matter, rather than being subject to an investigation.

Thus far, the police are yet to provide Atletico with the identity of the criminal, who they say will be banned for life from the stadium.

Atletico and Getafe’s perspective is valid, and yet a major part of the problem is that individual punishments, which then go into the legal system, are neither seeing harsh punishments handed out, nor are they proving a sufficient deterrant. La Liga and Spanish football seem to be running out of ideas to put a halt to the discrimination against footballers, and individual punishments clearly are not it.