An Ivory Coast footballer on Wednesday, March 13, lodged a police complaint against spectators of a football match in Kerala's Malappuram district alleging that he was racially abused and subjected to a mob attack. In his complaint, Dairrassouba Hassane Junior stated that a group of fans racially abused him and pelted stones at him on March 10 in Areekode, a village in Malappuram district, during a five-a-side football match.
Dairrassouba Hassane Junior was hired to play sevens football, a variation of association football played in India with seven players on each side, typically on a smaller field than a full-size football pitch. Football clubs sign semi-professional foreign players, mostly from West Africa, for big tournaments. Most of the organised tournaments are overseen by the Sevens Football Association (SFA).
Dairrassouba Hassane Junior was signed by a club named Jawahar Mavoor and the tournament was organised by a local association called Town Team Chemrakkattur.
According to reports, a section of the spectators attacked the Ivory Coast player with racial slurs and stones. The footballer said the incident happened when his team was leading by a goal and he went to take the corner kick. “The spectators called me an ‘African monkey’ and ‘black cat’, and pelted stones which hit my head. I was attacked because of my skin colour, my race and I have been insulted,” he said in his complaint.
After the stone pelting, he was surrounded by the spectators and had to be taken off the ground. Dairrassouba Hassane Junior has submitted video footage of the conflict along with his complaint. Areekode police have recorded his statement for further action.