Mohandi Abdelay (El Aaiún, Western Sahara; 1989), Sahara soccer coach, creator of the Play in the Hamada project and devoted to the Saharawi people, talks about Juan Cala and his incident with Diakhaby last Sunday. Mohandi defends that Cala is a very supportive person with Sahrawi children, hence the relationship that unites them. Knowing Cala, Mohandi does not understand what could have happened, but he is sure that he is not a racist person, because that is how the player has shown him for several years. He affirms that we must fight to end the racism that he himself has suffered, “but Cala has become one more victim.”
Question. When did you find out about the incident between Cala and Diakhaby?
Answer. “At that time I was not watching the game, but it reaches me. News broke quickly through networks that the game was suspended. When I got home and put the game in Cala they had already changed it and Diakhaby was in the stands ”.
And, knowing Cala, what is the first thing you think of when you find out?
“I know and understand that in moments of tension many things can be said, but I see it difficult. Obviously, from Diakhaby's reaction, it can be understood that Cala has insulted him, but knowing Cala and knowing her values, it shocks me that he told her that and it is difficult for me to understand it. In the profile of Cala does not fit. He is a man with a very well settled head, humble, simple, enterprising and with great values. He is very sensitive to those most in need ”.
I understand that this situation does not fit him with the Juan Cala that you know.
“In a moment of tension due to some mishap within the game it can happen, but I see it difficult. I am not denying Diakhaby, but she may have misinterpreted him. I see very difficult that Cala could have said that. I want to make it clear that I do not justify any racist act because I know what that is, I have lived it in my own flesh playing football and as a coach. I know how certain insults hurt in the way they are said. But I am convinced that this has not been the situation. With Cala they are trying to carry out an anti-racist campaign with a player who is anti-racist. He has been taken as a scapegoat and I do not share it. I am sensitized by the fight against a scourge such as racism, but I do not see it well that Juan is used to stone him ”.
That is why he launches the tweet in which he cannot assure that he did not say it, but he is not racist.
“It has had much more impact than I expected. If you can help him at least to make it clear that he is not racist, I will be calmer. He has been lynched and both he and Cádiz have been used to give cane on a subject that does not correspond to what he is. What represents the essence of a person are their values and these are what influence their actions. There is little that can be said there. He has lent sports equipment, money, he has helped to raise funds … He has even expressed his intention to go to the Sahrawi refugee camps to truly know the cause ”.
How long have you known Cala? How do you know it?
“Cala began to get involved in the Sahara issue in 2017. He has an uncle, Paco, who is very generous with this issue. He is an athlete and participates in the SaharaMarathon. Paco participates a lot in the issue of the Sahara because his brother, Juanma, who is a close friend of Cala, takes him to the Sahara for a year and from there, both brothers are closely linked to the cause and to collaborate. That family closeness with Cala makes him begin to collaborate. But in 2019 Paco (Cala's uncle) dies and that is when Cala gets deeply involved with Juanma in the projects. There is an initiative in favor of Sahrawi children that is even presented in the sports facilities of Cala. It is about traveling a distance from Paris to Brussels and who collaborates and helps by lending sports equipment and cooperates is Cala. He, due to his profession, is limited and gets involved as much as he can ”.
Have you been able to speak to him?
“Yes, I have spoken with him. The first day he was quite annoyed and did not sleep the first night because of everything that was being said. Now he is calm, with a clear conscience and insisting that he has not said anything. He is surprised by all the accusations that there are, many of them without criteria ”.
What Cala did affirm is that the Sahrawi platform that he leads is with him.
“I speak as a Saharawi coach regardless of the platform, but I know that they are supporting him. As the creator of the Play at La Hamada project, aimed at Sahrawi children, I know that he has collaborated because of the direct relationship I have with people who have a great relationship with Cala. He is a person with principles that do not agree with the image that is being given to him in public opinion. I do not justify racism because I fully understand Diakhaby and what he may feel because I have suffered, but I do not think he corresponds with Cala. He denies it and I believe him. The presumption of innocence must be respected and until the contrary is proven, it is not fair to judge him ”.
Do you think Cala is being another victim in this matter?
“It is a subject where you have to spin very fine. It is a scourge that must be ended, but Cala has become one more victim. It is not about taking away the iron from the matter or justifying anything. I reject racism, but it is being another victim ”.
Is Cala being the victim of a society that attacks and judges without evidence in an excessive way?
“To fight racism, we must attack from the base: education, the media, our political leaders and act decisively in demonstrable situations. In this case, the presumption of innocence must be respected as long as it is not proven. For all that he has done and collaborated, I doubt that he is that way. If it were proven, I would understand the lynching of the person who makes a racist comment as a way of reciprocating, but in this case I do not agree because Cala is neither racist nor has it been proven ”.
Final reflection by Mohandi Abdelay.
“I do not justify racism, I have suffered it, but I defend Juan Cala because I know first-hand that he is not a racist. He has collaborated a lot with the Project Play in La Hamada anonymously. He has donated sports equipment, money and food to Sahrawi children. He intends to go to the Sahara camps. He has a close link through his family with the Sahara and may society learn, reflect and that instead of generating two sides for or against, we all unite to end this scourge of racism, which is more present in it seems. It is a pity that in the 21st century we have not been able to see all of us as equal beings. We should judge whether we are good or bad, not our skin color ”.