Porto forward Moussa Marega has become the latest in a very long and worrying line of footballers targeted for racist abuse.
The Mali international, 28, was subjected to vile chants from Vitoria Guimaraes supporters throughout Sunday's Primeira Liga clash at the Estadio D Afonso Henriques.
He was substituted by his manager, Sergio Conceicao, several minutes after scoring what proved to be the winning goal in a 2-1 victory, but not before he took a stand and made a point of celebrating in front of Vitoria supporters by pointing to the colour of his skin. He tried to leave the pitch, pointing his thumbs down to the crowd as well as making obscene gestures, but was restrained by teammates for several minutes.
Inexplicably, the reaction earned him a yellow card from referee Luis Godinho, who at no point had followed any protocols to either halt the match or ask the stadium announcer to warn the home supporters about their conduct. No wonder Marega branded Godinho "a disgrace" and that he hoped he would never have to share the same pitch again.
The league's organising body, Liga Portugal, condemned the chants but are yet to say whether any investigation will take place. More likely Marega will be charged with bringing the game into disrepute for calling those fans who abused him "idiots" on social media.
Sadly, this is by no means the only incident of a player or players being abused. While cases of household names such as Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Mario Balotelli are well documented, and rightly condemned, coverage of players and supporters suffering racial abuse further down the food chain receive less coverage. Punishments for those found guilty of racial abuse vary from life-time bans to national teams being ordered to play games behind closed doors.
Above is a photo gallery of just some of the incidents that have marred the 2019/20 season so far.
To move on to the next image, click on the arrows or thumbnails, or if using a mobile device simply swipe.
