Foreign footballer faces racism, beaten by spectators during club match in Kerala; FIR registered

The incident came to light as a video of the assault went viral on social media and the Ivory Coast national lodged a complaint.

Malappuram(Kerala): A football player from Ivory Coast was beaten up by a mob of spectators and also allegedly racially abused a few days ago during a soccer match between local clubs in north Kerala, police said on Wednesday, adding that an FIR has been registered, naming 15 persons as accused.

The incident came to light as a video of the assault went viral on social media and the foreign national lodged a complaint with the Malappuram District Police Chief on Tuesday alleging that he was racially abused and pelted with stones during the match by some of the spectators who also beat him up.

Police registered an FIR today against 15 persons.

The incident occurred near Areekode in this northern Kerala district which is known for its football craze.

An officer of Areekode police station told PTI that the player's statement has been recorded, which took some time due to language issues. An FIR under various sections, including 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race) of the IPC has been registered today.

The officer also said that according to videos of the incident, some of the spectators can be seen making fun of the player and also throwing something at him. Subsequently, he can be seen going up to the spectators and kicking one of them, the officer added.

"That led to the people there getting agitated. They chased him around the ground and beat him up," he said.

A complaint has also been received from the person who was allegedly kicked by the player, the officer added.

"Since he is a foreign national, we are giving priority to his complaint," police said and added that a probe will be launched to ascertain what actually happened.