Spanish football superstar Lamine Yamal, who is Muslim, on Wednesday slammed “intolerable” chants during a friendly against Egypt in Barcelona that police are investigating for Islamophobia and xenophobia.
At the RCDE Stadium near Barcelona, the home ground of LaLiga club Espanyol, Spain supporters chanted “who doesn’t jump is a Muslim” during the World Cup warm-up match which ended in a goalless draw.
The chanting “was aimed at the opposing team and was not something personal against me, but as a Muslim it is still a lack of respect and something intolerable,” Lamal wrote on Instagram.
“To those who sing these things: using a religion as a form of mockery on a pitch shows you up as ignorant and racist.”
“We are investigating yesterday’s Islamophobic and xenophobic chants at RCDE Stadium during the Spain-Egypt friendly match,” Catalonia’s regional police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra, wrote on X.
Spanish Justice Minister Felix Bolanos condemned the incident, saying that “racist insults and chants embarrass us as a society”.
“The far right will not leave any space free from their hatred, and those who remain silent today will be complicit,” he added on X.
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