The Espanyol defender Omar El Hilali accused the Elche forward Rafa Mir of a racist insult during their teams’ La Liga game on Sunday, according to the referee’s report.
Iosu Galech Apezteguia briefly paused the match under the anti-racism protocol in the 80th minute after speaking to the Morocco international El Hilali. “El Hilali informed me that he [Mir] addressed him in the following terms: ‘You came here on a dinghy,’ which could not be heard by any member of the refereeing team,” wrote the referee in his report. Consequently, I proceeded to activate the anti-racism protocol, for which reason the match was stopped for three minutes.”
El Hilali, who was born in Spain, seemed visibly upset after the incident, while Mir scored a penalty in the 90th minute to secure the hosts a 2-2 draw against Espanyol.
Spanish football has struggled to deal with racism in the stands in recent years, with the Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior regularly targeted. In May 2025, five Valladolid supporters were jailed for a year for racist insults aimed at Vinícius in 2022.
Four members of an Atlético Madrid ultra group received prison sentences for displaying an effigy of Vinícius in January 2023, though the punishment was later changed to fines.
Last month Vinicius accused the Benfica midfielder Gianluca Prestianni of racially abusing him in a Champions League game, leading to a Uefa investigation which is continuing.
