Spanish Journalist Apologizes to Fati After ‘Black Street Vendor’ Comparison

You really wonder how naive and out of touch a journalist can be. Especially these days when it comes to describing the exploits of a talented black footballer.

In his match report covering Barcelona’s 5-1 Champions League victory over Hungarian champions Ferencvaros, Salvador Sostres of Spanish newspaper ABC, remarkably likened 17-year-old Ansu Fati to a ‘black street vendor who you suddenly see running’ when the police arrive.

Fati’s experienced team-mate the French international Antoine Griezmann was quick to support his young colleague on twitter...

“Ansu is an exceptional boy who deserves respect like any human being. No to racism and no to rudeness.”

In an apology published by the newspaper earlier today, Sostres said he was attempting to “praise the beauty of Ansu’s movements” and was “deeply sorry for any misunderstanding”.
Fati was born in Guinea Bissau and immigrated with his family to Spain when he was six years old. A precocious talent, he is one of Barcelona’s most promising players.

The club said it was planning to sue the newspaper and journalist, but after Sostres’s apology, it was reconsidering what course to take.