FC Barcelona basketball club has denounced racial taunts directed at its Nigerian player, James Nnaji.

The ugly incident occurred prior to the Spanish Basketball Championship final, which the Catalan club won at rival Real Madrid.

“FC Barcelona strongly condemns the racist insults suffered by first-team basketball player James Nnaji, prior to game N.3 of the final,” Barça wrote in a statement.

“The club, which has already informed the competition organizers of what happened, expects a firm and exemplary response from the ACB (Spanish Basketball League, Editor’s note) against any racial or verbal insults”, the Catalan club said.

The most recent incident of racial discrimination occurred on May 23 involving Real Madrid’s footballer, Vincius Jr in a match in Valencia.

The incident sparked outrage and a surge of support for Real Madrid’s Brazilian striker.

“I want to talk about what happened here with James Nnaji, I think it’s a regrettable thing. I hear a lot about Vinicius (Real Madrid’s Brazilian footballer, editor’s note), and now we’re the ones who must talk about what’s going on,” said Barcelona coach Sarunas Jasikevicius after the match.

“This has to stop now. It doesn’t go, I suppose, with the values of Real Madrid and its supporters, and we must be very angry about it,” Sarunas Jasikevicius added.