'He called me a monkey' - Cadiz defender Carlos Akapo confronts fan in crowd after appearing to suffer racist abuse
Cadiz defender Carlos Akapo confronted a fan in the crowd after appearing to suffer racist abuse in a La Liga clash away at Granada on Monday.
Granada and Cadiz played out a 0-0 draw in the bottom-of-the-table encounter at Nuevo Estadio de Los Carmenes, which was overshadowed by the actions of a group of home supporters.
Akapo was substituted for Ivan Alejo just after the hour mark and walked around the side of the pitch to return to the bench, only to be harassed by a fan that was seen making a monkey gesture towards him.
What's been said?
The Equatorial Guinea international stopped to have words with the man in question, who was also asked to cease the abusive behaviour by a supporter sitting in the row in front of him.
Akapo told GOLTV and El Larguero of the incident: "There have been three or four a*rseholes. I know it's wrong, but they don't represent the Granada fans at all.
"But above all there was one who has persisted and has called me a monkey. On the one hand it affects me and on the other we have to give visibility so that people are not in the stands.
"They are people who do not deserve to come to the stadium and who do not represent the fans of Granada. It doesn't enter my head why people insult you and call you Black.
"For my part, I treat him calmly, and I try to make people see what idiocy and nonsense they do. I hope they remove him from football.
"Many thanks also to the Granada fans who told him to stop. I will try to forget it. Football is about having values of respect."
Carlos Akapo es reemplazado, sale por línea de fondo y se produce una acción tan desagradable como repudiable: un aficionado del Granada hace un gesto racista en el que imita el movimiento de un mono. Akapo se detiene ante él y le recrimina su actitud. pic.twitter.com/h7tQnrlsUK
— GOAL España (@GoalEspana) February 28, 2022
Granada's response
Granada have launched an investigation and promised to impose a strong punishment on the guilty party.
The Andalusian club have also outlined their "zero tolerance" stance on racism, writing in an official statement: "Granada CF strongly condemns any act of racism and will not tolerate any behaviour in its stadium that reflects an intolerant or discriminatory attitude towards the players or fans who come to our field.
"The club has initiated an investigation and will take the pertinent measures to firmly sanction this behaviour that does not represent the values of Granada CF or its fans.
"Granada CF maintains zero tolerance towards all kinds of racist manifestations and is proud of a supporter that has always shown its respect towards rival clubs and supporters."