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Barcelona midfielder Ronaldinho has backed
Samuel Eto'o's response to the racist abuse he received from fans
of Real Zaragoza.
Eto'o tried to leave the pitch in the second half of Saturday's
game, after expressing his disgust with the Zaragoza fans for
their behaviour.
But the Cameroonian was convinced to stay by his team-mates and
Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard.
The Fifa World Player of the Year said he would have joined Eto'o
in walking off the pitch, as he was dismayed with the torrent of
abuse directed at his team-mate.
"I would have gone with Eto'o after hearing the insults he
received throughout the game," Ronaldinho said.
"This kind of thing cannot continue. We have to try and abolish
these things from football pitches.
"I tried to calm him down and told him that he was bigger than the
people who were insulting him.
"We hope that actions like those of Samuel's mean these kinds of
incidents won't happen again."
Victor Esquinas Torres, who was the centre referee during
Saturday's match, reported the incidents in his match report,
which was posted on the Spanish Football Federation's (RFEF)
official website.
"In the 76th minute, when Eto'o went to take a corner, the crowd
behind the goal started to chant repetitively Uh! Uh! Uh! Uh! Uh!;
clearly imitating the sound of a monkey," he wrote.
"I stopped the game for two minutes to ask the club to make an
announcement over the public announcement system to ask the crowd
to stop making these sounds that were in my opinion clearly racist.
"After the corner there was a penalty in Barcelona's favour and
when Ronaldinho went to take the penalty the same section of
supporters started to make the same kinds of sounds again.
"The message over the PA system asked fans to stop making
offensive remarks against the visiting players.
"But despite this announcement, the same kinds of sounds were
heard from various sections of the crowd throughout the rest of
the game every time Eto'o went for the ball."
The RFEF fined Zaragoza over US$700 last season, after a section
of their fans directed similar abuse against Eto'o.
But the club was slammed with another fine in February after
another racist incident involving Real Betis's Brazilian forward
Robert.
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