Santos Laguna shows unity against alleged racist abuse against Félix Torres

The match between Club Atlético de San Luis and Santos Laguna was a chippy one to say the least, with eleven cards being shown and two players and San Luis’ manager being shown red cards. Now there’s allegations that Santos Laguna’s Félix Torres was the victim of racist abuse.

In stoppage, Torres was involved in an altercation along the touchline in front of the San Luis bench. The view from the television feed cuts to Torres being surrounded by San Luis players as Santos teammates rush in to his defense. Torres for the most part is calm and trying to extricate himself from the situation while tempers flare all around him. Once order is somewhat restored, referee Adonai Escobedo shows Torres a red card.

In the post game press conference, Matheus Dória is speaking when he says in no uncertain terms that Torres was the victim of racist abuse from San Luis. “There cannot be, in world fútbol, racism.”

“My partner on defense, Félix Torres, is crying in the locker room,” Dória continues. “He is my brother and my partner. This cannot happen. We lost, but racism can’t happen. Check the cameras.”

Torres also spoke, expressing in a voice that was close to breaking several times that “I was expelled for some words that hurt me too much. I feel beaten in this moment, and it give me great sadness that this is happening in fútbol.”

Santos was strong in their reaction, releasing footage of the press conferences so that the statements of both Torres and Dória could be witnessed by everyone. Grupo Orlegi Chairman Alejandro Irarragorri tweeted out his thoughts, saying “NO TO RACISM, entering the locker room and seeing a player crying for the insults received is really lamentable.” The Santos players also were photographed showing solidarity.

With no fans in the stands, there will most likely be clear audio of anything said to Torres. It’s hard to discern what’s said on the video on the league site of Torres’ card due to the announcers talking over it, however a raw audio feed is most likely available. Hopefully footage can be traced and the individual or individuals who are guilty are held to account.