Espanyol and Elche played to a 2-2 draw on Sunday in a LaLiga match that experienced a brief interruption toward the end due to the activation of the anti-racism protocol by the referee.
This decision by referee Iosu Galech Apezteguia occurred around the 80th minute after Espanyol’s defender Omar El Hilali claimed that Elche forward Rafa Mir made racially inflammatory remarks against him.
The match was halted for approximately three minutes, during which Galech Apezteguia noted in his post-match report that El Hilali informed him of derogatory comments made by Mir related to immigrants.
This activation of the anti-racism protocol came less than two weeks after a Champions League playoff match between Benfica and Real Madrid was paused for nearly 10 minutes when forward Vinícius Júnior accused Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni of calling him a “monkey.”
Prestianni, who has denied these allegations and received support from Benfica, was provisionally suspended for one match by UEFA and did not participate in the second leg of that fixture.
In the match, Mir successfully converted a penalty kick in the 90th minute, earning a point for Elche, which extended both teams’ winless streaks. Elche currently sits just outside the relegation zone in 17th place, having gone without a win in their last 10 matches in all competitions. Meanwhile, seventh-place Espanyol has not won in their last nine league games.
Information from the Associated Press was included in this report.