Crowd in Kerala racially beats African footballer; video goes viral

A footballer from the Ivory Coast was chased and thrashed by spectators during a football tournament in Malappuram district of Kerala. 

He also alleged that the crowd had racially abused him.

The spectators alleged that the footballer kicked one of them, which led to the incident. 

A group of people can be seen chasing Dairrassouba Hassane Junior, the man in the blue t-shirt, as he scampers on the ground in Areekode in a video of the incident that has gone viral. 

Eventually, the Ivory Coast footballer is caught and repeatedly thrashed by the people, the video shows.

The African man is seen getting protection from the punches from a man in a white t-shirt. After speaking with the angry crowd, the man in the white t-shirt is seen departing through a gate with the football player. 

Hassane Junior filed a complaint with the police and recorded his statement.

 The football player said in the complaint that his team was awarded a corner kick and that as he was going to assume his position, he was subjected to racist taunts from the crowd. He further claimed that stones were thrown at him by the mob. 
The police were investigating the case.

Hassane Junior was representing the football club, Jawahar Mavoor, which was taking part in a sevens football tournament. Sevens football is a renowned sports event in Malappuram with matches held in packed local stadiums.