Editor's note on racist abuse

Once again Spanish football has shamed itself with racist insults. People watching the game between Zaragoza and Barcelona which was televised around the world were presented with disgraceful scenes as Samuel Eto'o was once again the subject of "monkey chants". Referee Esquinas Torres stopped the match to make an announcement for them to desist, but Eto'o threatened to abandon the pitch and had to be persuaded by the other players to stay on. It was a deplorable incident, but the reactions of some of those people involved left a lot to be desired. Why did the crowd boo Eto'o after the game restarted rather than turn on the undesirables who perpetrated the shouts? Where are statements from the club condemning the act, and what are they doing to identify those who did this, especially after similar incidents in the same game last season? There was even some suggestion that Eto'o only reacted to unsettle the opponents (shame on them for thinking that), and Víctor Muñoz thought it was "just a small group of people, and these things happen in every football stadium in Spain". So that's all right then is it? It's not just Zaragoza though, this type of thing is taking place more and more in grounds around the country, and the authorities don't seem to react until provoked into doing so by criticism from outside. It's time for this to be sorted out now before it gets out of hand!