Atlético Madrid have won an appeal to overturn a two-game partial stadium ban imposed by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) after Athletic Club player Nico Williams suffered racist abuse during a league game between the sides.
The RFEF’s Appeals Committee also annulled in Thursday’s ruling the €20,000 fine handed to Atlético by its Disciplinary Committee for the incident.
The LaLiga fixture between Atlético and Athletic on April 27 was stopped in the 36th minute by referee Juan Martínez Munuera as part of LaLiga’s protocol against racism after he heard abuse from the Wanda Metropolitano stands directed at Williams.
In a recent development at Atlético, the club has successfully identified the perpetrator with the assistance of the police.
The individual involved in the misconduct was unveiled to be a club member, prompting Atlético to take decisive action by suspending the member indefinitely.
The Appeals Committee’s assessment that Atlético couldn’t have prevented the “isolated incident”when considering the unpredictability of such occurrences in the context of a complex sporting environment.
Despite rigorous security measures and precautions in place, ensuring absolute prevention of all incidents is nearly impossible due to various factors beyond the club’s direct control.
“Both from the point of view of prevention and reaction, [Atlético deployed] measures that demonstrate behaviour of the greatest possible diligence,” the ruling said.
“The club’s active collaboration, the identification of the person responsible and the fact that it was an isolated incident, carried out by a single person, allows us to affirm that the maximum possible diligence was taken by the club.
The attribution of responsibility could only arise from an objective liability that is not what is provided for in the regulations and is not admissible in the sanctioning area.”
As Atletico Madrid sit in fourth place in LaLiga with only four games left in the season, their upcoming match against Celta Vigo holds immense significance.
As the LaLiga title race intensifies at the top, Atletico Madrid must focus on securing their place among the elite teams in Spain.
The clash against Celta Vigo is more than just a game – it is a test of character and resilience for Simeone’s men.
Only time will tell if Atleti have what it takes to rise to the occasion and secure their Champions League aspirations.
