Referee stops game in Spain after Ghanaian player is racially abused

A Spanish top-flight game was stopped by the referee on Sunday night after Ghanaian winger Inaki Williams was racially abused by fans of Sporting Gijon.

Referee Clos Gomez was temporarily forced to stop the game after the Athletic Bilbao was subjected to the disgraceful chants.

The game was stopped after around half an hour when Sporting Gijon fans started the chants directed at Williams.

The 22-year-old was targeted by the north end supporters at the Estadio El Molinon with the loud ugly money chants.

Williams, whose father is from Ghana but born in Spain, was clearly affected by the chants and the referee intervened by stopping the game.

The leading match official decided had a chat with the fourth official on the matter before an announcement was made over the PA system asking the fans not take part or tolerate such acts.

Gijon fans are infamous for their racist chants and in 2008 they were handed a palty fine of €3000 for the ugly chants directed at Getafe winger Joffre Guerrón.

"We want to continue being very proactive and Sporting will always root out any type of racist behaviour, the club's president at rthe time Manuel Vega Arango said.

"You can't have a policeman for every fan, but we have to try and make sure this doesn't happen again."

The Spanish football authorities have been accused of not bein g decisive and strong enough which results in such incidents every season.

The league investigated racist chants directed at Barcelona striker Neymar by supporters of Espanyol in January.