The Spanish government on Monday granted police forces more powers to deal with racism in sports events including canceling or pausing the event or even evacuating the venue.
In a press statement, the Spanish Interior Ministry said security coordinators in sports event would have the power to ask the referee to stop, suspend or even cancel the match if there are racist, xenophobic or discriminatory chants against any athlete or specific group either inside or outside the sports grounds, or even on transport to venues.
The police coordinators may also partially or fully evacuate the stands for the same reason.
It also affirmed that event organizers can also be punished if they participated in or condoned the racist acts or even if they did not cooperate fully with police to prevent and stop such acts.
The move comes after a football season of controversy over racist chants aimed at several La Liga players, the most prominent being Real Madrid's Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior.
Source: Kuwait News Agency