Ramos scores on his birthday, Sevilla condemn racist abuse

• Birthday boy Sergio Ramos scored the only goal as Sevilla beat Getafe 1-0 on Saturday
• The match was paused for a few minutes in the second half after fans targeted Sevilla’s Marcos Acuna racially abusing him

Sevilla secured a crucial 1-0 win over Getafe on Saturday to jump towards safety as the La Liga season draws close to an end.

Birthday boy Sergio Ramos scored the only goal of the match inside five minutes to help Los Hispalenses return to winning ways. It was Sevilla’s second victory in six league games and third away league triumph since the start of the 2023-24 season.

The 1-0 win could be very important in helping Sevilla avoid relegation at the end of the season. The Spanish side have been poor since the start of this campaign and have been mostly teetering on the brink of the relegation zone despite sacking head coach Jose Luis Mendilibar, who was seen as the problem back in October.

Travelling to Getafe, Sevilla knew they were up for a difficult task considering their away form this season has been poor. However, they started the game on a high note and took the lead barely five minutes into the match, thanks to Ramos who headed home from a corner.

Sergio Ramos scored on his birthday as Sevilla beat Getafe 1-0. Photo/ Football Espana.

Getafe, who were ten points ahead of the visitors prior to kick off, didn’t look shaken by the goal and started looking for an equalizer after getting into the game. However, they failed to convert their chances and almost found themselves two goals down when Ramos jumped highest to head home from a free-kick only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.

The hosts had only lost two home games this season and looked like a side with such an impressive record in the second half when they created more chances. However, the game had to be halted in the 68th minute by referee Javier Iglesias Villanueva due to “racist and xenophobic abuse” from some fans in the crowd. The game resumed after two and a half minutes when things had cooled down and there were no further incidents.

Getafe continued their pursuit for an equalizer and thought they had eventually levelled the scores with time running out but Jaime Mata’s strike was also cancelled because of offside.

Sevilla Condemn Racist Slurs From Saturday’s Match

Sevilla’s match at Getafe resumed after fans were informed by loudspeaker to refrain from racist language. The club’s left-back Marcos Acuna and coaching staff had been targeted by racist and xenophobic abuse.

According to the report from the match’s referee, Acuna was insulted by fans, with some calling him a “monkey,” as per AP News. Even though the referee didn’t record any more incidences afterwards, Sevilla manager Quique Sanchez Flores later said some Getafe fans had insulted his Roma heritage. They called him “gypsy” in a derogatory manner.

“I am proud of every pore in my body that breathes Roma, but one thing is to be Roma and another is to be insulted for it. There are some fans who think they can say anything they want at a stadium. It is happening in every stadium.” Sanchez is quoted by AP News.

Sevilla’s Marcos Acuna was racially abused during Saturday’s La Liga match against Getafe. Photo/ The Athletic

Sevilla went ahead to condemn the racist abuse on their player and manager writing on X: “We condemn the racist and xenophobic abuse suffered by Marcos Acuna and our coaching staff.”

La Liga also reacted to the incident saying there’s no place for racist behaviour in sport and added that they’ll continue with the work of ensuring racism is no longer practiced in the league.

Racism has been at its peak in recent years in Spanish football. Real Madrid attacker Vinicius Jr. has been the most targeted player, with La Liga reporting ten cases to prosecutors last season. The Brazilian recently said he won’t let racists triumph by leaving Spain to play elsewhere.