Spanish coach De la Fuente says there is no racism in Spain as Yamal and Vinicius cite abuse
Spain’s head coach Luis de la Fuente, 65, told reporters on Saturday that “in Spain, there is no racism,” speaking ahead of a UEFA Nations League match against England in Madrid. He was answering a question about England manager Thomas Tuchel, who said he would remind his players of antiracism protocols before Sunday’s game at the Metropolitano Stadium, where a capacity crowd was expected for a top-of-the-table Group C fixture. De la Fuente said Tuchel should be told there is no racism in Spain, “exactly the same as in England,” and that “we’re not racists, none of us.”
That claim sits against public testimony from Barcelona and Spain forward Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr, both of whom have said they face racist abuse in Spain. FIFA has already punished Spain over Islamophobic chanting. The world champions must play their next home friendly with reduced capacity after supporters, during a March friendly against Egypt, chanted “Whoever doesn’t jump is Muslim” (Yamal quoted it as “the one who doesn’t jump is the Muslim”) and whistled Egypt’s national anthem. Yamal, a Muslim whose father moved from Morocco to Spain, wrote on Instagram that the chant was disrespectful and intolerable, called those who use religion as mockery “ignorant and racist,” and later told Jorge Valdano on Movistar he had experienced racism “a thousand times,” often in comments or looks people do not even notice.
Vinicius has been among the most prominent targets and has spoken about it in tearful news conferences. England players, including Ashley Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips, were also abused in a 2004 friendly in the Spanish capital. Tuchel said he did not expect racist abuse on Sunday, later stressing he had not been talking specifically about racism in Spain. Midfielder Declan Rice said the squad knows the protocol—having left the pitch after incidents in Montenegro and Bulgaria—and was not expecting trouble.
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