Iñaki Williams, during an Athletic match against Espanyol. /
courts
The Cornellà Prosecutor’s Office issues a ruling so that those guilty of humiliating the Athletic footballer two years ago and committing an alleged crime of hate and discrimination sit on the bench
LaLiga will bring the two accused of uttering racist insults against Iñaki Wiliams to trial at the Cornellà stadium on January 25, 2020. Court number 2 of First Instance of Cornellá has transferred the proceedings to the Public Prosecutor and to LaLiga, as the accuser, and previous actions so that they can request the opening of the oral trial against the alleged culprits of the racist shouting at the Athletic footballer.
LaLiga, which was the one who denounced the alleged racist insults against Williams before the Prosecutor’s Office, will formulate an indictment requesting the opening of an oral trial, “following its faithful commitment to denounce, within its powers, all racist, xenophobic insults and chants , homophobes, etc », as highlighted this Thursday by the club management.
In the 69th minute of the League match between Espanyol and Athletic, while Iñaki Williams was leaving through one of the Cornellà stadium ends, several fans shouted racist words. Some Espanyol fans fired Williams yelling “Uh, uh, uh, uh”, the onomatopoeia that reproduces the sounds made by monkeys.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, “it has been uttered on several occasions by groups of fans from different countries to undermine the dignity of black soccer players.” After the match, both Williams and Athletic denounced the attitude of a sector of the stands. “It is very sad that today we continue to experience scenes of racism in football. We all have to finish it off. Thank you for your support,” the Athletic striker wrote at the time.
Unpublished lawsuit
On the occasion of the reported events, the Mossos de Esquadra, at the request of the Prosecutor’s Office, began an investigation that led, after identifying those responsible, to a complaint by the Public Prosecutor’s Office against the alleged perpetrators of the insults, for hate crime and discrimination. Now, after the pertinent investigation, Court number 2 of First Instance of Cornellà has issued an order for the opening of an oral trial against the accused.
During the investigation, Iñaki Williams himself appeared in court to give a statement and ratify the unfortunate events to which he was subjected. In an unprecedented and exemplary decision, it was the first time that the Prosecutor’s Office filed a complaint against perpetrators of racist insults on a soccer field.
