Athletic Bilbao forward Inaki Williams has confessed that he felt “humiliated” after suffering racist abuse during a La Liga match at Espanyol last year.
Williams was subjected to racial insults from a number of the Catalan side’s fans after he was substituted off during a league draw at the RCDE Stadium back in January 2020.
As outlined by a report in Cadena Ser, Williams gave his evidence to a court via video link on Wednesday as two of Espanyol’s fans stand accused of racism.
The report adds that one of those accused has chosen not to testify while another has failed to appear in court.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, there were “shouts of contempt towards him, with the undoubted intention of humiliating him and damaging his dignity for racist reasons.”
The Prosecutor’s Office added that monkey chants have “been uttered on various occasions by groups of fans from different countries to undermine the dignity of black footballers.”
Police investigations allowed the identification of three followers allegedly related to the racist insults, one of them a minor.
Born in Bilbao to Ghanaian parents, Williams has blossomed into one of Athletic’s star players – making 280 first-team appearances and scoring 64 goals to date – and has frequently spoken out about the scourge of racism.
In March last year, he claimed he and his Athletic teammates would walk off the pitch if he or anyon else on the team was subjected to racist abuse: “If this is repeated, I will have the support of a lot of people.
“I know that my teammates would have left the pitch with me. I have talked with them, and next time we will leave the pitch, even if they punish us with a defeat.”
Inaki’s 18-year-old brother Nico is currently a highly-rated striker in Athletic’s youth side.
