Soccer-Spanish court hands man one-year jail sentence for racially abusing Athletic Bilbao's Williams

MADRID (Reuters) -A man was sentenced to one year in prison in a court settlement on Wednesday for racially abusing Athletic Bilbao forward Inaki Williams during a match at Espanyol's Cornella-El Prat stadium in 2020, a local court in Barcelona said.

The incident, in which prosecutors said the man imitated monkey noises and gestures aimed at Williams, marked the first case of racial abuse in soccer to reach Spanish courts.

Last season, Athletic Bilbao's LaLiga game at Espanyol in February was temporarily halted after Williams, who was born in Bilbao to parents from Ghana who met in a refugee camp, reported alleged racist abuse towards teammate Maroan Sannadi.

Racism in Spanish stadiums has drawn further attention since Real Madrid's Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr accused LaLiga and Spain of racism in 2023 after he was subjected to slurs during a match at Valencia's Mestalla stadium. Since then, several fans had been handed sentences for racially abusing Vinicius.

In the Williams case, prosecutors had initially sought a two-year prison term. The defendant, who has not been named, also agreed to pay a fine and accepted a three-year ban from soccer stadiums as well as a five-year disqualification from working in education or sports-related professions.

Under Spanish law, prison sentences under two years for non-violent crimes are typically suspended for first-time offenders, meaning the defendant is unlikely to serve jail time unless further offences are committed.

Reflecting on the incident, Williams said at the time he felt saddened by the racist insults, calling them "completely out of order" and emphasizing that football is a team sport meant to be played in a friendly atmosphere.

(Reporting by Emma Pinedo; editing by Charlie Devereux and Christian Radnedge)