“Spain is not racist”, says Arbeloa after Islamophobic chants v Egypt | OneFootball

“Spain is not a racist country,” and it is necessary to avoid “generalizing,” Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa said this Friday regarding the Islamophobic insults by Spanish fans during a friendly between ‘La Roja’ and Egypt three days ago in Barcelona.

The chant “if you don’t jump, you’re Muslim” and the boos during the Egyptian anthem at the Cornellà-El Prat Stadium, home of Espanyol, were condemned within the Spanish national team itself and even by Lamine Yamal, Barça star and Muslim, who was on the field and was visibly embarrassed by the situation.

These incidents sparked outrage across Spain and led to the opening of an investigation by the Catalan regional police.

On Wednesday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez criticized the “minority” of fans who “stained” the country’s image.

Arbeloa spoke about the case on the eve of Real Madrid’s match against Mallorca in La Liga.

“Spain is not a racist country. If it were, we would have incidents every weekend in every stadium. But our position remains the same: we must eradicate all forms of racist behavior in stadiums and in society,” the coach said at a press conference.

“We are a very tolerant country and we must not generalize when this kind of incident happens. We must keep fighting with the same determination to ensure that these acts are never repeated, neither on the field nor in society,” he added.

The Islamophobic incident in Barcelona is the latest in a series of similar events that have marked Spanish football in recent years. In particular, Brazilian forward Vinícius Júnior of Real Madrid has repeatedly reported being the target of racist insults.

Spain will host the 2030 World Cup jointly with Portugal and Morocco, in a tournament that will also include matches in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

According to the Spanish press, this type of incident could affect the organization of the competition, and FIFA may decide to hold the final in Morocco rather than in Spain.

*By AFP

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.