Ghana midfielder Mubarak Wakaso has accused referees in the Spanish top flight of being racists.
The 22-year-old was responding to the reasons for Espanyol’s shambolic form so far this season at a press conference on Friday morning.
The Barcelona-based club find themselves rock bottom in La Liga with a paltry 9 points out of 12 games.
And in what could attract the fury of referees in La Liga, Wakaso minced no words at all in describing the their discriminative conduct in matches.
“I am sorry to say, but referees draw cards based on the colour of your skin,†the former Villarreal midfielder said.
“I think they respect some players and not others. The game at Mestalla was rubbish.
“Only against Osasuna did we deserve to lose. Every other game was influenced by the referee.â€
Wakaso’s comments is likely to attract critical attention from the Spanish authorities who have made conscious efforts to stem out racism in football.