Seydou Keita and Pepe have a history, and it’s spilled over yet again. During Tuesday’s preseason friendly between AS Roma and Real Madrid in Dallas, TX. Keita threw a water bottle at Pepe in the preseason match, which he says was in response to the Portuguese spitting at him. That alone would be notable, but Keita also accused Pepe of making a racist remark towards him in 2011, further complicating an already ugly situation.
Seydou Keita throws water bottle at Pepe as row between two continues
Seydou Keita threw a water bottle at Pepe, who he says spit at him.
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Keita and Pepe first clashed when the Malian was a Barcelona player: Keita accused Pepe of calling him an ape during the 2011 Supercopa,
On Tuesday, because of that incident from three years ago, Keita refused to shake Pepe’s hand in the pre-match line. While that is unusual, it is not unheard of, and completely understandable considering his point of view. But things didn’t end there.
Keita: "Dynamics of the incident? He came behind me and spit on me. I had a bottle of water and I threw hit at him. Then other players came"
— Lorenzo Vicini (@ViciniLo) July 30, 2014 There was no clear video on the broadcast of the alleged spitting incident. TV cameras caught only Keita throwing the water bottle at Pepe.
Pepe hardly has a clean reputation. While 2011 was the only time he's been accused of racism, he has been characterized -- fairly -- as an exceedingly dirty player for his slew of bad tackles and cheap shots. He was, for instance, red carded in Portugal's opening World Cup match for headbutting Thomas Müller, a move that nobody was surprised by.
Of course, there is a big leap from being a dirty player on the field to making racist comments to someone or acting maliciously toward a player because of his skin color. As of now, there is no clear evidence as to what Pepe did, but there is a history between he and Keita and if Keita’s claims are true -- be it from 2011 or from Tuesday night -- Pepe has no business on a football pitch.
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