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Weeks after FIFA punished Spain over Islamophobic chants by their supporters and their star Lamine Yamal admitted having repeatedly experienced racism in the country, the Spanish team’s head coach, Luis de la Fuente, has claimed the country does not have a racism problem.
De la Fuente appeared to quash any concerns about racism as he addressed the media on Saturday before his team’s UEFA Nations League match against England.
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“In Spain, there is no racism,” the 65-year-old said in response to a question about his England counterpart Thomas Tuchel, who revealed he would speak to his players about the antiracism protocol in place before Sunday’s match in Madrid.
“You can tell this to Thomas. As clear as that. There is no racism. Exactly the same as in England, in Spain, there is no racism. We’re not racists, none of us.”
While a capacity crowd is expected for the top-of-the-table Group C clash at the Metropolitano Stadium, the world champions will have to play their next home friendly with a reduced capacity as a punishment for Spanish supporters singing an Islamophobic chant during a fixture against Egypt in March.
Several high-profile players have been targeted by racist abuse in recent years, including Yamal and Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr, who has been moved to tears in news conferences while talking about the issue.
England players faced racist abuse during a game in the Spanish capital in a 2004 friendly in which Black England players, including Ashley Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips, were targeted.
Tuchel said he did not expect racist abuse on Sunday but his players would be reminded of antiracism protocols.
“I think the referee and the officials know about that [racist chanting].”
He later clarified his comments as not being specifically about Spain and criticised reporters for creating “a lot of confusion for absolutely nothing”.
“I never talked about racism in Spain. I answered politely a question about what happens,” he said.
England midfielder Declan Rice said the squad knew exactly how to respond if racism occurred.
“In the past, I’ve experienced that in Montenegro, Bulgaria, and there was a protocol in place we followed,” Rice told reporters. “We came off the pitch. We know exactly where we are as a group on that.
“I’m not expecting any of that. This is a beautiful city, great stadium. The players we’re playing against we have a lot of respect for. It’s set up to be a really good evening and hopefully not a negative one.”
Yamal has faced racism ‘a thousand times’
In September, Barcelona and Spain star Yamal said he had experienced racism “a thousand times” with many people unaware that their comments or behaviour is racist.
Asked by former Argentina international Jorge Valdano in an interview with Spanish broadcaster Movistar whether he had directly experienced racism, Lamine said: “A thousand times.”
“People are indirectly racist towards you but maybe don’t realise it. There are a lot of comments or looks that are racist, and they don’t even notice.
“If someone calls me Black, it’s not going to bother me at all. Ultimately I’m Black. I’m not any other colour. Another thing is whether it’s good or bad, whether they’re saying it to offend me.
“But if I’m playing a match. and they paid for a ticket to see me, I’m not going to get angry just because they disrespected me.”
Yamal criticised the anti-Muslim chants by fans in what should have been a friendly match against Egypt.
A section of supporters had chanted: “Whoever doesn’t jump is Muslim.”
Egypt’s national anthem also received a barrage of whistles before the friendly.
Yamal, a Muslim whose father moved from Morocco to Spain, issued a damning statement on Instagram in the wake of the row.
“I am a Muslim. Yesterday at the stadium the chant ‘the one who doesn’t jump is the Muslim’ was heard,” he posted.
“I know I was playing for the rival team and it wasn’t something personal against me but as a Muslim person it doesn’t stop being disrespectful and something intolerable.”
Yamal added: “I understand not all fans are like this, but to those who sing these things, using a religion as a mockery on the field makes you ignorant and racist people.”
Years of racist abuse aimed at Vinicius
Real Madrid’s Vinicius has been the most notable target of racism and has openly addressed the issue, often in tearful news conferences.
On May 22, 2023, Vinicius said the Spanish league “now belongs to racists”, and two days later, Spanish police arrested four men suspected of hanging an effigy of him four months earlier from a bridge in Madrid in front of the club’s training centre in advance of a Madrid derby.
The arrests came amid an international outcry after racist abuse was hurled at Vinicius during another league match.
A year later, Vinicius broke down in tears and said he was struggling to stay motivated and enjoy playing football due to the recurring racist abuse he was subjected to in Spain.
During an emotional news conference before Brazil’s friendly against Spain, he expressed frustration that fans kept getting away with hurling racist abuse towards him.
This year, Vinicius praised Yamal for his public condemnation of Islamophobic chants, saying players need to stick together in the fight against discrimination.
“Hopefully, we can continue with this fight,” he said.
“It’s important that Lamine speaks about it. It could help others. We are famous. We have money. We can balance these things better, but the poor people and the Black people who are everywhere, they surely struggle more than we do. So we have to stick together, those who have a stronger voice, the players.”
“I’m not saying that Spain or Germany or Portugal are racist countries, but there are racists in these countries and in Brazil and other countries as well,” Vinicius said. “But if we keep fighting together, I think future players and people in general won’t have to go through this again.”
