Appeal accepts Getafe's allegation and will not partially close the stadium

The Appeal Committee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) upheld this Wednesday the appeal presented by Getafe and revoked the sanction of the partial closure of part of the Coliseum stands due to the racist insults received by the Sevilla player Marcos Acuña. Furthermore, as reported by the azulón club through an official statement, it also annulled the financial fine of 27,000 euros that the RFEF Disciplinary Committee imposed on Getafe after the match between both teams two days ago and in which the referee, Javier Iglesias Villanueva, reflected in the minutes the insults uttered against the Argentine player of the Andalusian team (“Acuña mono” and “Acuña vinos del mono”; in addition to calling coach Quique Sánchez Flores a “gypsy”). Likewise, this Tuesday Anti-Violence recommended sanctioning the fan who uttered those insults and who was identified by the Getafe cameras with 4,000 euros.

Precisely, at a press conference, goalkeeper David Soria stated this Wednesday that the sanction against Getafe seemed excessive when, in his opinion, the culprits had to be identified and punished without harming all the fans collectively. “First of all, both the club and the players, we are against any xenophobic or racist act both on and off the field. It's a complicated issue because I think you don't have to pay a whole share of the fandom for a character or for someone who hasn't controlled their manners or who isn't educated. I think it would be easier to sanction the person and not the team with the cameras we have,” Soria said. “I think it is easier with the little ones to set an example. I think the sanction is obviously not fair. We must catch the person who was, punish him and let the person serve as an example, not the fans, who are not to blame. I hope it doesn't spread, that it can be appealed, that we get that person out of football and that others can continue enjoying it. And furthermore, I think it is a specific fact. You cannot brand a fan of a person as racist. Not even Spanish football, I don't think it's racist by any means. There are fools everywhere and we have to go for them and not for the fans and magnify everything,” he added.

In this way, Getafe will be able to count on all its fans for the match against Real Sociedad that will be played this Sunday. It was the first of the three (in addition to against Athletic Club and Atlético de Madrid) in which he had to serve a sanction that the Appeal has left void.