Referee pauses La Liga game after Elche’s Rafa Mir accused of racist insult

Guardian Sport

by AFP

March 1, 2026

Espanyol defender Omar El Hilali reports insult Mir then scores 90th-minute penalty to secure 2-2 draw The Espanyol defender Omar El Hilali accused the Elche forward Rafa Mir of a racist insult during their teams’ La Liga game on Sunday, according to the referee’s report. Iosu Galech Apezteguia briefly paused the match under the anti-racism protocol in the 80th minute after speaking to the Morocco international El Hilali. “El Hilali informed me that he [Mir] addressed him in the following terms: ‘You came here on a dinghy,’ which could not be heard by any member of the refereeing team,” wrote the referee in his report. Consequently, I proceeded to activate the anti-racism protocol, for which reason the match was stopped for three minutes.” Continue reading...

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Originally published on Guardian Sport on 3/1/2026