Sports News

La Liga wants Espanyol partial stadium closure for Inaki Williams incident


Inaki Williams made his senior debut for Atheltic Bilbao in 2014

La Liga wants the Spanish Football Association to punish Espanyol with a partial stadium closure after Athletic Bilbao forward Inaki Williams said he was racially abused at their ground.

The incident happened in Athletic’s 1-1 draw at Espanyol on Saturday.

La Liga is attempting to identify the fans involved and bring criminal charges of hate crimes against them.

It is also working on plans to allow players to report abusive chants to a referee, who can then take action.

Espanyol said they were investigating “incidents of a racist nature uttered by a few against Inaki Williams”.

In a statement, the Barcelona-based club said: “Espanyol strongly and explicitly condemns any sign of racism on soccer fields.”

It has been reported