Football
ESPN staff 9y

Racist chants cause Panama forward Luis Tejada to abandon game in Peru

Panama forward Luis Tejada walked off the field in a match between Peruvian clubs Juan Aurich and Cienciano after suffering racist abuse from fans on Sunday.

Tejada, who plays for Juan Aurich, angrily kicked the ball into the stands in the 70th minute and walked off in response to racist chants directed at him from the Cienciano supporters.

Tejada was issued a yellow card by referee Ivan Chang for booting the ball away and told Peruvian outlet Depor.pe after the game: "I am sorry about the situation I have had to experience. Being sincere, I thought this would not happen again, the same that happened last year when I played against Sporting Cristal, but I was wrong.

"There were racist insults said from the start of the warm-up. There were passages of the game when they were repeated, and nobody did anything. Then when I was caught offside the insults were even stronger."

"I could not take it any longer, and I just went to kick the ball in a gesture of protest or impotence, seeing that nobody was doing anything. I wanted to make clear that I reject something that we are not learning about and not taking seriously in this sport."

"I left the field as a show of protest against the racist insults and gestures. I do not understand why Ivan Chang continued the game. What more has to happen? I am sure there is no blow you can compare to this sadness. I have a family, my children, I do not want these type of situations to happen."

It is the second such incident in which Tejada has been involved in the past five months. In October of 2014, Sporting Cristal, also of Peru, were sanctioned after their fans racially abused Tejada, who was then a player for Cesar Vallejo.

Having used all three of their substitutions prior to Sunday's incident, Juan Aurich were forced to finish the game with 10 men. They lost 2-0.

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