The Spanish Football Association and head coach Luis de la Fuente condemned alleged anti-muslim chants made at the RCDE stadium in Barcelona during Spain’s 0-0 draw against Egypt on Wednesday. Fans were repeatedly warned to not make xenophobic remarks and songs and a message was displayed at half-time which was also read out by the stadium announcer.
According to ESPN, the message was then repeated once again in the early stages of the second half and was met with jeers.
“We remind you the legislation to prevent violence in sport forbids and punishes the active participation in violent, xenophobic, homophobic or racist acts,” was the message displayed on the stadium, according to the New York Times.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) denounced the chants in a statement put out on their social media.
“The RFEF stands against racism in football and condemns any act of violence inside stadiums,” their statement read.
After the pre-FIFA World Cup friendly ended in a 0-0 stalemate in RCD Espanyol’s home ground in Barcelona, Spain coach De la Fuente was asked about the repeated incidents by reporters and the Spaniard didn’t mince his words.
“I am repulsed by and absolutely reject any form of xenophobia or racism — it’s completely intolerable,” De la Fuente said in a news conference. “I don’t know exactly what the protocol is, but I think it was the right decision to display the message on the scoreboard and make the announcement. Those [chanting] are a disgrace — and the majority [inside the stadium] whistled them. There’s nothing else to say.
He continued speaking on the issue and said, “They are not representative of football. They take advantage of football, as they do in other areas of life. They need to be removed from society — the further away, the better.”
Spain is one European nation where the chants made at the race and religion of footballers has been amplified, largely through the efforts of Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr, who has faced the brunt of these attacks and has repeatedly called them out to the point where fans in and out of football stadiums are being prosecuted for their words.
Last year in May, five people were handed prison sentences by the Provincial Court of Valladolid for racially abusing the Brazilian during a game in 2022. They were handed one-year prison sentences which were reduced on the condition of good behaviour for the next three years. It was the first time racial insults within a football stadium in Spain had been classified as a hate crime and punished accordingly.
