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Quebec premier says hockey game should have been stopped after racist taunts

Feb 27, 2019 | 10:14 AM

Quebec Premier Francois Legault says he’s appalled that hockey fans would hurl insults at a player because he’s black.

Speaking to reporters before question period today in Quebec City, Legault raised the case of Jonathan-Ismael Diaby, a semi-pro hockey player who was subjected to racist taunts during a game in St-Jerome, Que., last Saturday.

Legault says he would have expected the game to be stopped so those responsible for the slurs could be ejected from the arena.

The premier called on fans to intervene when they hear racist comments and state clearly that such conduct is not acceptable.

Diaby, a former draft choice of the NHL’s Nashville Predators, left the Ligue nord-americaine de hockey game during the second period as a result of the verbal abuse.

He says he didn’t feel his family members, who were at the game and were also taunted, were safe, and they all left the arena.

The Canadian Press

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