- Lucas Ocampos was poked in the backside by a Rayo Vallecano fan
- The Sevilla winger lashed out at the lack of respect for players
- Do real fans leave games early? Listen to the It all starts podcast
Sevilla have condemned ‘the obscene gesture’ by a Rayo Vallecano fan who appeared to annoy Lucas Ocampos by poking him in the butt during their LaLiga match on Monday night.
33 minutes into the first half, Ocampos was about to take a throw-in when a Rayo supporter reached out and appeared to stick his left index finger into his butt.
The Argentina winger turned to protest at the fan and then called referee Hernández Maeso over, halting the match for a few minutes.
As Ocampos protested to Maeso, Rayo players Isi Palazón and Oscar Valentin both went to talk to the young fan who poked the Sevilla winger.
“You can see in the images what happened,” Ocampos told broadcaster DAZN.
A Rayo Vallecano fan appeared to poke Lucas Ocampos in the back on Monday evening
Ocampos turned to the fan and exchanged words with him before the referee intervened
The Sevilla winger protested to the referee after the incident
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‘I hope La Liga takes it as seriously as racism and the like. I don’t think all Rayo people are like that, because they have always treated us with respect, but there is always one fool.
‘I hope it doesn’t happen in other areas, because if this happens in a women’s football match, we know what can happen.
‘I stayed calm because I have two daughters, I hope this won’t happen again in the future.
“I hope the action that needs to be taken is taken, and I hope such a fool doesn’t stain an otherwise very well-behaved group of fans.”
A statement from Sevilla read: ‘Sevilla FC deeply regrets the incident that occurred on Monday in the match against Rayo Vallecano, where our player Lucas Ocampos suffered an obscene and totally inappropriate gesture from a local fan.
‘Sevilla FC hopes that appropriate measures typical of the regulations are taken so that such behavior is not repeated on a football field, and this has been transferred to LaLiga.
“These gestures and behaviors should not be allowed in our league as we strive to become the best league in the world.”
The incident was the only blemish on an otherwise happy evening for Sevilla, who won 2-1, ending a six-match winless run and moving up to 15th place, three points clear of the relegation zone.
The Sevilla winger called on LaLiga to take action against the Rayo fan
Thanks to a stroke of luck and some clinical finishing, the visitors took the lead after 19 minutes. Issac Romero’s wayward pass deflected off a Rayo defender and into the path of Youssef En-Nesyri, who made no mistake from 18 yards out.
Ten minutes later, the home side leveled when Isi Palazón turned in Alfonso Espino’s cross from the left.
But Romero and En-Nesyri struck again a minute before half-time to give Sevilla the lead again. En-Nesyri picked up Romero’s pass and finished smartly after a quick counter-attack.
Rayo, meanwhile, are 13th but have now lost five games in a row and remain frustratingly toothless in front of goal, with only Cadiz and Mallorca scoring fewer goals this season.