Yamal Slams Racist Chants in Spain vs Egypt Friendly

Lamine Yamal has criticised racist chants heard during Spain national football team’s goalless draw with Egypt national football team, calling them “disrespectful and unacceptable”.

The match took place on Tuesday at RCDE Stadium, where police are now looking into chants described as Islamophobic and xenophobic during the first half.

A warning message was shown inside the stadium at half-time, telling fans to stop such behaviour. The message was repeated early in the second half, but some supporters reacted by booing.

Yamal, who is a practising Muslim, said although the chants were aimed at the Egyptian team, they were still offensive.

“I know it was not directly against me, but as a Muslim, it is still disrespectful and unacceptable,” he said.

He added that football should be about enjoyment and support, not about insulting people for their religion or background.

The 18-year-old winger was making his 26th appearance for Spain. He played an important role in helping the country win UEFA Euro 2024.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation also spoke out strongly against the chants, saying there is no place for racism in football.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente described the behaviour as unacceptable and said such individuals should be identified and kept away from the sport.

The match was originally planned to be played in Qatar but was moved to Barcelona due to the conflict in the Middle East.

Spain made several changes to their team from their previous match, while Egypt were without injured forward Mohamed Salah.

The result also saw Spain lose their top position in the world rankings.