Monaco and Senegal star Keita Balde was left frustrated after his attempt to accommodate 200 homeless people at a hotel in Spain was denied by the hotel’s management.
The 25-year-old was in the process of taking hundreds of people off the streets of Lledia, an old town in Catalonia.
Although the winger plays for the Senegalese national team, he was born and raised in Spain.
He has, therefore, been collaborating with anti-racism activist Nogay Ndiaye to provide accommodation for homeless people.
Keita said had agreed an advance payment with the hotel to provide their services, however, they later refused to take in the homeless people due to their skin colour.
Un futbolista, nacido en #Girona y de ascendencia senegalesa, ofrece un edificio para 90 temporeros sin hogar en #Lleida https://t.co/nDsukm74Qr #Mónaco #Barcelona @KeitaBalde #Fútbol @arbucies pic.twitter.com/UopgPlCKQ1
— @ElNotiziero_ (@ElNotiziero_) June 1, 2020
Angered by the conduct of the hotel management, the former Lazio star took to Instagram to lambast the “ugly system” in Spain and the racial injustice meted out to the lodgers.
“Fighting and working hard alongside Nogay, an anti-racism activist, to find the first home,” he wrote.
“We are in an unfortunate and ugly system where renting a home or anything can give you a problem because of the colour of your skin or being from another country.
“I won’t give up and I will achieve what’s promised however I can. I’m asking for a bit of patience and strength.”
Keita’s rants come at a time when issues of racism are being discussed across the world following the murder of a black man in the United States.
George Floyd was murdered in Minnesota last Monday by a white police officer who pressed his knee on his (Floyd’s) neck for over eight minutes.
His murder has sparked protests against police brutality and racist injustice against persons of colour and Hispanics.
