Both teams and Spain's La Liga jointly backed Sunday's decision made at half-time by the referee to suspend the game hosted in Madrid, after local fans defied the Vallecas stadium announcer and sang "Zozulya you are a Nazi."

The striker, 30, who in February 2017 was shunned during a brief spell at the Madrid team Rayo, denied at the time belonging to far-right groups in his native Ukraine and disputed holding extreme political views.

Albacete, whom Zozulya later joined in 2017 as a free agent, said Sunday's game suspension had "one objective, which is to safeguard the values of our competition and the sport we all love."

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Suspensions common

It's the latest in a series of match abandonments in diverse contexts in Europe, including Hertha Berlin's youth team walking off on Saturday after alleged racist abuse by rival players.

In mid-November, Dutch Den Bosch fans denigrated Excelsior Rotterdam's forward Ahmad Mendes Moreira. Earlier in November, Italian striker Mario Balotelli walked off the pitch briefly over racist chants.

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In October, Bulgarian fans taunted visiting England black players.

When Sunday's Rayo-Albacete match was suspended, the half-time score was goalless. Albacete were down to 10 men after striker Eddy Silvester was sent off.