Credit: La Liga
Following Sunday's match between Villareal and Valencia in La Liga 2024-25, two disabled fans of the former’s side faced physical violence outside the Estado de la Ceramica. Notably, the game ended in a stalemate with figures of 1-1. One of the victims spent a night under observation and underwent tests for bruises he got from the attack, while another one was taken to Castellon General Hospital where he remained there as of Monday morning. Villareal skipper Raul Albiol has displayed support for the two victims and called the incident a matter of shame. Earlier both teams Villareal and Valencia also condemned the attack by issuing statements.
Censuring the attack sternly, Albiol said, "Well, look, the colors don't matter; it's a shame that such things happen in football. It shows a lack of decency to beat someone up. I hope they can identify these individuals and that they face consequences because there has been a lot of negativity this weekend, including insults and various issues in football stadiums. This is a sport meant for families, for enjoying with children; it’s lamentable that we are still facing these problems in 2025. I hope we can establish some order together because, in this case, the affected parties are Villarreal fans, but that’s irrelevant; it cannot happen."
La Liga sees controversial day on Sunday
Sunday also witnessed La Liga facing another controversy as the game between Estado and Athletic Bilbao was stopped for a brief period after Maroan Sannadi faced racial abuse from spectators at the venue. Receiving the complaint, referee Guillermo Cuadra intervened and applied to the league’s anti-racism guideline, which halted the match and a message was displayed for supporters to stop such antics to avoid the abandonment of the game.
La Liga is working on eliminating hate campaigns from the league with its initiative LALIGA VS HATE. However, these incidents highlight the league has failed in curbing indisciplined viewers thus far.
