Zaragoza fined for fans' racist abuse of Eto'o

Real Zaragoza were fined 9,000 euros ($10,728) by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) yesterday, after the club's fans directed racist abuse at Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o last weekend.

In an official statement the RFEF said the club had 10 days to appeal against the decision.

The fine is significantly larger than those that have normally been handed out to clubs for such incidents.

Zaragoza were fined 600 euros ($713.6) by the RFEF last season after a section of their fans directed similar abuse at Eto'o.

Earlier this month, the club was fined a similar amount after some fans directed racist insults at Real Betis's Brazilian forward Robert.

Zaragoza are trying to identity and punish the fans responsible for the racist abuse aimed at Eto'o in Saturday's Primera Liga match, as part of a strategy to fight racism in football.

"We are calling for all the authorities, including the police, to help us track down the people who carried out these acts," the club said on their website.

"Those identified will be firmly punished and the results of the investigation will be sent to the authorities."

The Cameroon striker tried to leave the pitch in the second half of Saturday's match before being persuaded to stay on by players and his coach Frank Rijkaard.

After being asked by the referee, the club put out an announcement on the PA system asking fans to refrain from making offensive remarks at opposition players.

But the abuse of Eto'o continued until the end of the game, which Barcelona won 2-0.