The FC Barcelona and Spanish national team footballer, Lamine Yamal, has described as “intolerable” the Islamophobic chant that was heard during the friendly match between Spain and Egypt played on March 31 at the RCDE Stadium in Cornellá, Barcelona.
During the match, from a section of the north stand of the stadium, the chant "Muslim whoever doesn't jump" was sung at various moments. The player has responded with a statement in which he points out that, although it was not a personal attack, it does constitute "a lack of respect".
Yamal, who has defined himself as Muslim and is the only player of this religion in the Spanish national team, addressed those who participated in the chants: “Using a religion as a mockery on a field leaves you as people ignorant and racist”.
The match was not interrupted, although from the stadium's public address system and video scoreboards it was reminded that the legislation contemplates sanctions for participation in violent, xenophobic or racist acts. The Mossos d'Esquadra have opened an investigation into what happened.
Political reactions have not been long in coming. The Minister of Justice, Félix Bolaños, stated that these behaviors “shame us as a society”. For his part, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Rafael Louzán, regretted the shouts at the end of the match, although he described them as an “isolated incident”.
