Sevilla condemn ‘obscene gesture’ after Lucas Ocampos has backside poked by Rayo fan while taking a throw-in… as Argentina star demands LaLiga take the incident ‘as seriously as racism’

Sevilla have condemned ‘the obscene gesture’ of a Rayo Vallecano fan, who appeared to interfere with Lucas Ocampos by poking his backside during their LaLiga match on Monday night.

With 33 minutes gone in the first half, Ocampos was about to take a throw in, when a Rayo supporter reached out and appeared to stick his left index finger into his bum. 

The Argentine winger turned to remonstrate with the fan and then called referee Hernández Maeso over, with the match halted for a couple of minutes as a result.

As Ocampos remonstrated with Maeso, Rayo players Isi Palazón and Oscar Valentin both went over to speak to the young fan who poked the Sevilla winger.

‘You can see what happened in the footage,’ Ocampos told broadcaster DAZN. 

Ocampos turned to face the fan and exchanged words with him, before the referee intervened

The Sevilla winger remonstrated with the referee after the incident 

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‘I hope La Liga takes it as seriously as it takes racism and these things. I don´t think all the Rayo people are like that because they have always treated us with respect, but there is always one fool.

‘I hope it doesn’t happen in other areas, because if this happens in a women’s football match we know what can happen. 

‘I kept my calm because I have two daughters, I hope this doesn’t happen to them in the future. 

‘I hope that the action that has to be taken is taken, and I hope that a fool like this does not stain a set of fans who otherwise behaved very well.’

A statement from Sevilla read: ‘Sevilla FC deeply regrets the incident that occurred this Monday in the match against Rayo Vallecano, in which our player Lucas Ocampos suffered an obscene and totally inappropriate gesture by a local fan.

‘Sevilla FC hopes that the appropriate measures will be taken which typifies the regulation so that such behavior is not repeated on a football field, and this has been transferred to LaLiga.

‘These gestures and behaviors should not be allowed in our competition if we aspire to be the best league in the world.’

The incident was the only blot on an otherwise happy night for Sevilla, who won 2-1 to end a six-game winless run and move up to 15th on the table, three points clear of the relegation zone.

The Sevilla winger called for LaLiga to take action against the Rayo fan

The visitors took the lead after 19 minutes thanks to a stroke of luck and some clinical finishing. Issac Romero´s wayward pass cannoned off a Rayo defender and into the path of Youssef En-Nesyri, who made no mistake from 18 yards out.

The home side leveled 10 minutes later when Isi Palazón turned in Alfonso Espino´s cross from the left.

But Romero and En-Nesyri combined to strike again a minute before halftime to put Sevilla ahead again. En-Nesyri took Romero´s pass and finished smartly after a quick counterattack.

Rayo, meanwhile, are 13th but have now lost five games in a row and remain frustratingly toothless in front of goal, with only Cadiz and Mallorca scoring fewer goals this season.