"I believe Diakhaby; I heard him tell the ref he'd been called black s**t"

Days after that famous Cadiz v Valencia game, nothing has been resolved. While the case is being investigated, Gabriel Paulista has wanted to give his version of events to the media to, once again, support his teammate Mouctar Diakhaby. 

"I believe Diakhaby. I've known him since the first day and we know how he is: timid, calm. When he gets angry, he gets really angry. I really believe in him and he isn't going to make up that type of thing. Me, like the rest of the squad and the club are on Diakhaby's side. These things can't happen," the Valencian central defender said. 

When asked exactly what happened, the defender explained what he saw. "There's a ball there to be won and he suddenly comes out of his area to argue with an opposing player. I hear him say: 'Referee, I've been called black s**t.' There was a moment I wanted to leave my position, but the ball came into our half and Correia asked me to stay. I finally got the ball and went to defend him from three or four Cadiz players."

"I saw he was very, very, angry. I tried to get him out of there to calm him down. The ref also said to me that he wanted to speak to him, but that he could only do it when he had calmed down," the Valencia footballer said. 

He asked for a reflexion from everybody. "You can't offend a person in this way. A lot of things happen on the pitch, but things related to racism cannot occur because it's a lack of respect to people. I don't care about the colour of my teammate's skin, we're all equal, this must not happen again."

 

April 7, 2021