Athletic Bilbao forward Inaki Williams has made a candid revelation about the emotional toll of enduring racist abuse during a Spanish LaLiga match against Espanyol in January 2020.
Inaki was subjected to racial insults from some of Espanyol’s fans when he was substituted during a league draw at the RCDE Stadium.
Speaking via video link in a court hearing this week, Williams shared his sentiments on the traumatic experience, as two Espanyol fans face allegations of racism.
According to a report in Cadena Ser, one of the accused chose not to testify, while the other failed to appear in court.
The Prosecutor’s Office stated that the incident involved “shouts of contempt towards him, with the undoubted intention of humiliating him and damaging his dignity for racist reasons.”
Furthermore, the Prosecutor’s Office highlighted that monkey chants had “been uttered on various occasions by groups of fans from different countries to undermine the dignity of black footballers.”
Police investigations led to the identification of three individuals allegedly connected to the racist insults, with one of them being a minor.
Born in Bilbao to Ghanaian parents, Inaki Williams has emerged as a star player for Athletic Bilbao, amassing 280 first-team appearances and scoring 64 goals to date.
Inaki has been an outspoken advocate against racism in football and vowed in March 2020 that he and his Athletic teammates would walk off the pitch if any player on the team faced racist abuse: “If this is repeated, I will have the support of a lot of people.“
“I know that my teammates would have left the pitch with me. I have talked with them, and next time we will leave the pitch, even if they punish us with a defeat.”
Inaki’s 18-year-old brother Nico currently shows promise as a highly-rated striker in Athletic’s youth side.
