After being a victim of derogatory comments, the Swedish attacker labelled the incident as ‘incredibly sad’
Alexander Isak was subjected to racist abuse as Sweden booked their spot at Euro 2020 with a 2-0 win over Romania on Friday.
Isak, 20, came off the bench during the win in Bucharest, with the game halted shortly after his 78th-minute introduction because of comments in the Swede’s direction.
While play was then allowed to continue, the Real Sociedad forward confirmed he had reported racist abuse to the referee, describing the incident as “incredibly sad”.
The young attacker was also booed loudly by the crowd every time he touched the ball as the fans responded to the match being halted.
“Of course it is sad for the moment, but at the same time we were prepared for such things to happen, even if it does not help in that way,” Isak told C More.
“I think I could handle it well and the team’s support was incredible too.
“We did well and it is incredibly sad that such things happen, but what should we do?”
Sweden did the damage against their opponents in the first half with Marcus Berg putting them ahead in the 18th minute before Robin Quaison doubled the advantage in the 34th.
Isak has 10 caps for his national team after making his debut in a 2017 friendly against Ivory Coast.
His best performance for Sweden came in November, when he scored a brace in their 4-0 win over the Faroe Islands.
He has scored two goals in 13 La Liga appearances for Sociedad this season, but has only made two starts in the competition as he settles into Spain.
With one game remaining, Sweden (18 points) are second to Spain (23) in Group F, with both sides having already progressed.
Finland were the other team to book their spot at Euro 2020 on Friday after a 3-0 victory over Liechtenstein, reaching their first major tournament.
Denmark and Switzerland moved closer to qualifying from Group D after wins over Gibraltar and Georgia respectively.
With 15 points, Denmark top the group ahead of Switzerland (14) and the Republic of Ireland (12), with all three teams having one game left to play.
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