Mali midfielder, Seydou Keita has labelled Real Madrid defender, Pepe as “worthless” after a recent spat in a club friendly, which brought up a racial-abuse incident from the past.
Keita, who recently joined Serie A outfit Roma, refused to shake the defender’s hand when the Giallorossi and Los Blancos lined up for a friendly fixture on Tuesday night.
Immediately after the pre-game traditional handshakes, Keita threw a water bottle at his opponent, sparking a heated exchange between the two sides.
Following the incident, the midfielder, who had faced Pepe on numerous occasions during his four-year stint at Barcelona, took to Twitter to explain himself.
“1. He called me a monkey during Madrid-Barca, 2. I did not shake his hand, 3. He spat on me, and after I threw the bottle, sorry for my attitude,” Keita wrote on his official twitter account.
The 34-year-old then spoke to the media the following day, explaining in detail how an incident in which Pepe had hurled racial comments at him in the past had fuelled the dispute in this week’s friendly.
“At the time I played with Barcelona, Pepe called me a ‘macaco’, that is to say a monkey, and he spat on me. I told myself: ‘This guy is worthless,'” Keita told RF1.[eap_ad_2]
“At the time, I did not speak publicly about it because it wasn’t worth it. That’s why I didn’t shake his hand before the friendly. I even told my intention to my team-mate Mehdi Benatia. So I greeted everyone except him.”
The former Sevilla and Valencia player the revealed that the Galacticos defender had spat on him before the game started.
“And suddenly he came up behind me and spat on me,” he said.
“At the time, I had a bottle of water and I threw it at him. His team-mates saw us and they had the intention to strike me.
“It’s true that I gave a bad image of myself and I apologise. But it’s lucky we were on a football field because it’s unacceptable that one man spits on another. I don’t see why I would shake his hand, because in his eyes I’m not a human being.
“I don’t want to talk to someone who does not consider me a human. His behaviour is unacceptable. Instead of asking why I didn’t shake his hand, he preferred to spit on me.
“I’m not saying I’m a saint. Like everyone I have flaws, but I respect people.”
Roma went on to win the friendly 1-0 as veteran Francesco Totti scored the game’s only goal just before the hour mark. (kickoffnigeria)
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