Valencia Exits Pitch After Racial Abuse Toward Mouctar Diakhaby

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Valencia walked off the pitch in its La Liga match against Cadiz in the first half on Sunday after alleged racial abuse directed at defender Mouctar Diakhaby.

Diakhaby and Cadiz’s Juan Cala were engaged in a spat late in the first half after a brief scuffle in the Valencia box. As the argument continued, Diakhaby had to be pulled away from Cala before he and his teammates exited the pitch.

Valencia held a team meeting shortly after exiting the pitch. At Diakhaby's urging, they then resumed the match, though Diakhaby was taken off the pitch as Hugo Guillamon entered.

"We offer our complete backing to Mouctar Diakhaby," Valencia said on Twitter. "The player, who had received a racial insult, requested that his teammates return to the pitch."

Cala scored the match's first goal on Monday with a score in the 14th minute. Kevin Gameiro tied the contest shortly thereafter with a goal in the 19th minute.

Valencia entered Sunday sitting No. 12 in La Liga with 34 points. Diakhaby is currently in his third season with Valencia after a two-year stint with Lyon in Ligue 1.