Foreign footballer faces racism, FIR registered

March 13, 2024 09:34 pm | Updated 09:34 pm IST - Malappuram

A football player from Ivory Coast was reportedly beaten up by a mob of spectators and allegedly racially abused a few days ago during a soccer match between local clubs in north Kerala, the police said on Wednesday, adding that a first information report (FIR) has been registered, naming 15 persons as accused.

The incident came to light as a video of the assault went viral on social media and the foreign national lodged a complaint with the Malappuram District Police Chief on Tuesday alleging that he was racially abused and pelted with stones.

The incident occurred near Areekode. An officer of the Areekode police station said the player’s statement has been recorded. An FIR under various sections, including 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered.

The officer said that according to videos of the incident, some of the spectators can be seen making fun of the player and also throwing something at him. Subsequently, he can be seen going up to the spectators and kicking one of them, the officer added.

“That led to the people there getting agitated. They chased him around the ground and beat him up,” he said.

A complaint has also been received from the person who was allegedly kicked by the player, the officer added.

“Since he is a foreign national, we are giving priority to his complaint,” the police said and added that a probe will be launched to ascertain what actually happened.