Mallorca players wives ‘groped, harassed, videographed’ in Saudi Arabia
The spouses of two Mallorca footballers have spoken out about being harassed local fans in Saudi Arabia after the club’s Spanish Super Cup game against Real Madrid.
Crina Palavra, who is the wife of Mallorca’s Dani Rodríguez, was quoted in Spanish media outlet Esports IB3 revealing how she and the partner of Mallorca goalkeeper Dominik Greif were targeted a group of men upon leaving the King Adbullah Sports City stadium on Thursday. She said that the group of men had clicked photos of them from close up while they were with their kids.
“The exit was a bit complicated. We left with our kids and we had no security. The truth is that some men from this country started taking photos of us from close up and were harassing us,” Palavra told Esports IB3. “The same thing happened to Natali, the wife of Dominik Greif. I was with my daughter, who was asleep. We felt uncomfortable. We didn’t have anyone to protect us. The exit was very bad.”
Natalia Kaluzova, Greif’s wife, was quoted Spain’s Marca that the men “made videos of us and pushed us and they groped us, shoved phones in our face and filmed us.”
The Associated Press quoted Mallorca club officials as saying that some 250 people were harassed as they exited the venue.
Other Mallorca fans and Spanish media who made the trip to Jeddah related the same details as Palavra and Kaluzova. Marca reproduced a video shot a mobile phone which appeared to show several men wearing Real Madrid jerseys taking videos and laughing as the group of Mallorca fans walked past to board chartered buses.
Quique Darder, father of Mallorca midfielder Sergi Darder, compared the insults and harassment of the women in their group to a “siege” that lasted 15 to 20 minutes before the buses arrived.
Mallorca club official Alfonso Díaz told Esport IB3 that there “was groping” of women, which he called “completely unacceptable.” He added that the club immediately informed the Spanish soccer federation and that he was confident that the organizers would take whatever means needed to ensure “it doesn’t happen again.”
The Spanish soccer federation told The Associated Press that its own security personnel “acted as soon as they had knowledge of the incident.”
Saudi Arabia was awarded the 2034 World Cup FIFA last month.
(With inputs from The Associated Press)
Discover the Benefits of Our Subscription!
Stay informed with access to our award-winning journalism.
Avoid misinformation with trusted, accurate reporting.
Make smarter decisions with insights that matter.
Choose your subscription package
