Barcelona defender Alejandro Balde receives racist abuse during Getafe clash | OneFootball

Saturday night proved to be a disappointing one for FC Barcelona as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Getafe away at Coliseum Alfonso Perez.

Beyond footballing matters, there was a concerning situation as Barça defender Alejandro Balde confirmed after the match that he was abused racially during the match.

Balde’s account of what happened

Indeed, speaking to the media after the match, Balde revealed receiving racist abuse during Barcelona’s match against Getafe and confirmed that the referee activated the appropriate protocol after he brought the incident to their attention.

“I have received racist insults. It happened in the first half and when the match ended, I reported it to the referee, who then activated the protocol,” the defender explained, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.

The referee on the night, González Fuertes, noted as much in his official match report, with his record of the incident reading as follows (h/t MD):

“At half-time of the match and still on the pitch, the visiting player number 3 told my assistant number 2 that messages of a racist nature had been uttered towards him.

“Once in the changing rooms, I informed the delegates of both teams and the UCO, proceeding to carry out the anti-racism protocol before the start of the second half.”

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This comes after there was audiovisual evidence of serious racist abuse directed at Lamine Yamal and Raphinha during the El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu in October.

Despite the evidence, no sanctions were imposed on Real Madrid at the time, with it being explained that there had been no formal complaints from the players. However, on this occasion, Balde’s complaint was officially raised.

During the interaction with the media, Balde also reflected on the match and explained what went wrong for the Blaugrana, saying:

“We had many chances and did not take them. This is happening to us a lot this season, but even if we play badly, we must take advantage of the opportunities. Now we have a very important match in the Champions League and we must go for it.”

Later in the night, Balde shared a message on Instagram: “Racism has no place in football or in life. We must continue fighting to make sure these acts disappear. It is a shame that in 2025 these things are still happening.”