Getafe president Angel Torres has played down an interview in which his own player said he has suffered racist abuse while playing in LaLiga.
Torres also appeared to not know the history of Chrisantus Uche, who has played in Spain for over two years, suggesting the player was mistaken in his allegations because he is new to the country and therefore doesn’t know the language.
The president’s comments come on the back of manager Patri Moreno’s similar assertion that Uche’s experience isn’t legitimate because he allegedly doesn’t speak Spanish, reported by Football Espana. It also preceded Real Madrid releasing a statement confirming an individual has been handed a suspended prison sentence for racially abusing Vinicius Junior.
“But he doesn’t understand! How can he tell you that?,” said Torres about Uche’s claims. “When he has been here for one or two years and understands and speaks Spanish, he can say whatever he wants. Let’s hope that the committees or whoever corresponds understands it.”
Uche represented Moralo and Ceuta in Spain before moving to the top division with Getafe during the recent summer transfer window. The Nigerian under-23 international recently criticised referees in the division during an interview with ESPN, where he also said he’s been targeted with racist insults by fans.
“First two matches or three matches, I saw it with my eyes the referees are are so bad, they are so bad,” he said. “They will kick me, the referee will just say I should stand up. No, it’s a foul, you have to blow it.
“But if they kick another person the referee will just blow it. And it’s so painful, you cannot do anything, you don’t have any power because the referee has power to do anything he wants to do.
“Racism is not good, it has to stop,” added Uche. “Everybody is the same, everybody is equal.”
Torres believes Uche’s interview was a poor decision and suggested the journalist who asked the questions took advantage of the youngster.
“I don’t want to justify him, but someone who doesn’t speak Spanish and (who) gets the microphone stuck in front of him… The journalist who asks him those things… (Uche says) well, what everyone hears, that the referees are very bad and he decides to just say that,” said Torres.
“My press officers are as much to blame for not being there and listening to it (during the interview) as the journalist who asks that question to a kid who has arrived a month and a half ago” he continued.
“But hey, I’ll talk to him and listen to the interview… and I’ll tell him that he’s completely mistaken. Although it is not the right question to ask a boy who has just arrived, it does not justify him having to speak badly about the referees or anyone.”
Uche’s concerning comments come after Vinicius Jr has publicly taken LaLiga to task over consistent abuse he has received while at Real Madrid. In June, the Brazilian superstar said he’s a “tormentor of racists” after three Valencia fans were sent to prison for abusing him at the Mestalla Stadium in 2023..
“This first criminal conviction in the history of Spain is not for me. It’s for all black people,” Vinicius wrote on X.
Uche has featured in all seven of Getafe’s winless LaLiga games this season, scoring one goal. The quick dismissal and misinterpretation of his quotes is not unusual by those in charge in Spain, with LaLiga president Javier Tebas recently skewing a positive Vinicius Jr quote that Spanish racism should decrease by the time they host the 2030 World Cup as the player saying the entire country is racist.