FORMER Premier League star Hugo Rodallega has broken down in tears after allegedly being a victim of racist abuse.
The forward claimed he was called “monkey” and “black” during Columbian outfit Santa Fe’s Copa Sudamericana fixture against Argentinian side Gimnasia La Plata.
The Copa Sudamericana is similar to that of the Europa League in Europe as teams from South America compete against each other.
The game in Argentina ended in a 1-0 win for Gimnasia La Plata, but it was overshadowed by the abuse suffered by Rodallega.
After the match, the 37-year-old was visibly upset as he gave his post-match interview.
Rodallega slammed the abuse from the opposition fans and admitted that he was left “hurt” by it more than the result.
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He said through tears: “We do not improve as humanity, what is happening in the whole world is a disaster.
“The issue of racism is getting tired of being called a monkey, being called black is disrespectful and sad.
“It happened to all of us, when there was a problem, we can argue, we can fight.
“We may have been expelled, but since people start messing with the issue of race, instead of anger they feel sad.
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“It doesn’t hurt me that we have lost, but what happens in the stadium, in the surroundings, hurts me.
“We in Bogotá treat them well, we respect them, they did not respect us today and that makes me sad.”
Rodallega made 153 appearances in the Premier League across spells with Wigan and Fulham, scoring 29 goals.
The Comlubian’s complaints come just days after Vinicius Jr was subject to racist abuse during Real Madrid’s defeat to Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium.
Vinicius pointed out the alleged offenders to the referee, with the match temporarily halted for around nine minutes.
Los Blancos’ star winger sarcastically applauded and gave a peace sign to the home crowd as he left the field following his red card.
He will not have to serve the five-game suspension after the RFEF Competition Committee overturned it.
A Spanish FA statement said that the decision to rescind the dismissal was made due to VAR failing to show the referee the full footage of the incident.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
