Luiyi De Lucas is a former Scottish Premiership star who recently shared his side of the story after punching an opponent player for โracial abuseโ, find out more about him and the incident below as the video of him punching Eliel Peretz goes viral
The former Livingston defender reportedly punched an opponent player named Eliel Peretz, right after a game for his new club.
Luiyi De Lucas punches Eliel Peretz due to alleged racial abuse during Cypriot Cup 2024 match, video goes viral
— Luiyi (@luiyidelucas) February 26, 2024
Luiyi De Lucas, jogador do Ael Limassol, acertou um golpe no rosto do jogador Eliel Peretz do Apollon Limassol apรณs o fim do jogo de ontem vรกlido pela Copa do Chipre.
Ambos os jogadores foram expulsos. Nรฃo se sabe atรฉ agora o que Peretz disse para De Lucas. pic.twitter.com/pSlqLCbnR1
— Futebol Cipriota ๐จ๐พ (@FutebolCipriota) February 22, 2024
Luiyi De Lucas, who has made 22 Premiership appearances with Livingston, left the club last month, citing homesickness.
Luiyi De Lucas punches opponent
The viral incident took place following a match between Apollon Limassol and AEL Limassol in the Cypriot Cup quarter-finals. France star Mathieu Valbuena secured the lead with a 41st-minute goal for Apollon, before Pedro Marques scored a 90th-minute penalty, making it 2-0. AEL then struck back with a penalty to make it 2-1 in the 94th minute. However, Marques sealed the deal with another goal to end the match 3-1.
Despite the final whistle, things were far from over as horrific scenes broke out on the pitch. ย Just moments after the referee blew for full-time, Apollonโs Eliel Peretz said something to De Lucas, which ticked him off. The two players then proceeded to walk towards each other before De Lucas swung and punched Peretz in the face. The former Livingston defender did not stop there, as he proceeded to swing a kick at Peretz, who managed to move away as other players rushed to the scene. As their teammates held the two players back, Peretz approached him once more, and the two exchanged more words. The whole incident ended with the referee showing a red card to both players.
Luiyi De Lucas speaks out about the punching incident
While the reasons behind the fight were unclear at the time of the incident, De Lucas has come out to break his silence on the matter. According to the 29-year-old, Eliel Peretz racially abused him after the match. De Lucas shared a lengthy statement on X about the whole incident. In the statement, he expressed his apology for his reckless behavior while also stating what led him to do it.
Luiyi De Lucas shared how he received โconstant repeated insults of a deeply racist and personal natureโ throughout the game. He ended the statement by sharing that he has already filed a complaint with the Cyprus Police with the help of his lawyer. Moreover, he has already reported the racist behavior against him to the KOP, UEFA, and FIFA.