Barcelona on Wednesday condemned the racist abuse suffered by Nigerian player James Nnaji during their Spanish basketball championship final victory over bitter rivals Real Madrid.
The incident comes as Spanish sport wrestles with the global outcry sparked by racism aimed at Realโs Brazilian football star Vinicius Jr.
โFC Barcelona strongly condemns the racist insults suffered by first-team basketball player James Nnaji before game three of the final,โ Barcelona said in a statement.
โThe club expects a firm response from the ACB (Spanish basketball league) against any racial or verbal insults.โ
Images of the arrival of the FC Barcelona bus at the WiZink centre in Madrid, where Tuesdayโs match took place, showed several Madrid fans hurling insults at the Barcelona players.
According to local media, Nnaji was the target of racist insults.
โI want to talk about what happened here with James Nnaji, I think itโs regrettable. I hear a lot about Vinicius and now itโs us who have to talk about whatโs going on,โ said Barcelona basketball coach Sarunas Jasikevicius.
โIt has to stop now. It doesnโt fit, I guess, with the values of Real Madrid and its supporters, and we have to be very angry about that.โ
Barcelona beat Real Madrid in 93-82 on Tuesday after winning the first two games of the final for the clubโs 20th Spanish league title.
