A football player from the Ivory Coast was beaten up by a mob of spectators and was also allegedly racially abused a few days ago during a soccer match between local clubs near Areekode in this northern Kerala district known for its craze for the sport.
According to the foreign national's complaint to the Malappuram District Police Chief, he was racially abused and pelted with stones during the match by some of the spectators who also beat him up.
An officer of Areekode police station said that the player's statement was being recorded, but it was taking some time due to language issues. After his statement is recorded an FIR will be lodged, the officer said.
The officer also said that some of the spectators can be seen in videos of the incident, making fun of the player and throwing something at him.
Subsequently, he can be seen going up to the spectators and kicking one of them, the officer said.
"That led to the people there getting agitated and they chased him around the ground and beat him up," he added.
The officer said that a complaint has also been received from the person who was allegedly kicked at by the player.
"Since he is a foreign national, we are giving priority to his complaint," police said and added that a probe will be launched to ascertain what actually happened.
