Pedro Sánchez accuses Rajoy of xenophobic remarks after French team column row | OneFootball

Pedro Sánchez has accused former prime minister Mariano Rajoy of xenophobic remarks that shame Spain, after a column suggesting France’s national team excelled but lacked French players.

He argued that belonging is not about surnames, birthplace or skin colour, but about rooting oneself in a country and contributing to it, whether by playing football, caring for older people or starting businesses. He also looked ahead to the World Cup semi-final between Spain and France, saying he wanted the best side to win and racism to lose.

Rajoy’s words, published after Spain reached the semi-finals, drew a response from Paris. France’s interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, called them absolutely unacceptable. “France is a diverse country where everyone can flourish, there is one France, a Republic in which everyone should be able to find their place,” he said on BFM TV.

“I think we move away from that when things like this happen. We do not give an image of hope to many young people who live in the neighbourhoods and who are citizens of the Republic,” Nuñez added.

All members of the France squad are French, and 23 of the 26 were born in the country. Minister Aurore Bergé described repeated racist slips as intolerable, while Naïma Moutchou urged the French Football Federation to pursue all possible legal steps.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo