Paper says sorry for Ansu ‘ street seller ’ comparison
ABC known to favour right-wing political parties
Madrid – Spanish newspaper ABC has issued an apology to Barcelona star Ansu Fati after their match report compared his pace to that of a “black street vendor fleeing police ”.
The 17-year-old put in an impressive display in Barcelona ’ s 5-1 victory over Ferencvaros on Tuesday night, scoring their second goal. However, the aftermath of the victory was soured by the paper ’ s description of the Guinea-Bissau-born Spain international.
“Ansu in full flight has something of a gazelle about him, of a very young, black street seller that you suddenly see running along Paseo de Gracia when someone shouting ‘ water, water ’ (to warn other street sellers) announced that local police have arrived.
Now this kind of thing does not happen, because, for Ada Colau (the left-wing mayor of Barcelona), the criminals are the police and not the street sellers, who no longer have to run away. It is also true that without tourists, business is rather weak.”
ABC is known in Spain as a newspaper that favours rightwing political parties.
The author, Salvador Sostres, issued an apology on ABC website yesterday. But local media reports suggest Barcelona are going to take legal action over the matter.
“As I attempted to highlight the beauty of Ansu ’ s movement, and his class as a young player, some expressions were interpreted as racial discrimination. That could not be further from my intentions, or opinions, which are very favourable towards the player, as I have always expressed in my match reports since he madehis debut. I deeply apologise for the misunderstanding and to those who may have been offended.”
The report received widespread condemnation on social media, with Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann tweeting: “Ansu is an exceptional boy who deserves respect like any other human being. No to racism andno to bad manners. ” Gary Lineker retweeted and said the report felt like “stepping back 50 years