Zaragoza's mayor has invited Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o to visit the Spanish city with his family, in order to prove that its citizens are not racist.
The Cameroon striker tried to leave the pitch last Saturday
after Real Zaragoza fans directed racist abuse at the player
during their Primera Liga match.
"I wasn't at the game but I heard it on the radio and was
ashamed. I was so outraged I decided to do something," mayor
Juan Alberto Belloch was quoted as saying in the El Pais newspaper
on Friday.
In his invitation letter to Eto'o, he said: "I would like to
offer you the chance to meet the people of my city. Zaragoza is
a friendly, open, tolerant and multi-cultural place.
"I would like to show you and your family the preparations
we are working on to host Expo 2008, which should be a symbol of
respect to cultures across the world."
Real Zaragoza were fined 9,000 euros ($10,750) by the
Spanish Football Federation for the incident.
But Fifa president Sepp Blatter told BBC Sport that the fine was "ridiculous" and did not reflect the seriousness of the offence, a view that is also held by Spain's Anti-Violence Commission.
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I would like to
offer you the chance to meet the people of my city. Zaragoza is
a friendly, open, tolerant and multi-cultural place