Barcelona star Samuel Umtiti reportedly racially abused by Espanyol player during the La Liga clash
French ace had to be restrained by Gerard Pique at the final whistle after allegedly being subjected to vile abuse
BARCELONA star Samuel Umtiti was reportedly racially abused by an Espanyol player on Sunday.
The Frenchman had to be restrained by team-mate Gerard Pique at full time after he was allegedly called a "black w***e" by one of his opponents, according to BeIN Sport.
The culprit has still not been identified, but footage has emerged showing the 24-year-old attempting to get at the man who abused him.
And Umtiti can be seen repeatedly asking in Spanish: ";Why this phrase?"
Luckily the anger did not boil over as Pique and several other Barca colleagues got the furious ace away from the pitch and into the dressing-room.
It still remains to be seen whether Barcelona decide to lodge an official complaint following the bad tempered clash.
Tensions were raised before kick off at RCDE Stadium following comments made by Pique in the lead-up to the La Liga showdown.
The Spanish international was jeered throughout after calling Espanyol a small town club.
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And the hot atmosphere looked like it had got to Barca as they fell behind on 66 minutes.
Gerard Moreno was then man who broke the deadlock with a header.
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But luckily for Ernesto Valverde, who decided to start with Lionel Messi on the bench, his men got themselves out of jail late on.
The Argentine superstar had been introduced to the action, and his free-kick was met by the head of Pique to equalise.
That result leaves Barca 12 points clear at the top of the table ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid.
Umtiti was booked during the game and will now serve a one-match ban next week against Getafe.
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