The friendly between Spain and Egypt held this Tuesday (31) in the province of Barcelona ended with a score of 0-0. The match was not marked by the teams’ performance, but by racist insults directed at Muslims and made in the stands.
Part of the 35,000 fans who went to the RCDE Stadium booed the Egyptian anthem before the start of the game and shouted that “those who don’t jump are Muslims” during the first half. Throughout the match, the stadium’s sound system and big screens issued alerts reminding us that “violent, xenophobic, homophobic and racist acts” are prohibited and subject to sanctions.
Spanish national team star Lamine Yamal is Muslim. The Barcelona player was the only one who did not go around the pitch to greet the fans in the stadium. This Wednesday (1st), the attacker classified the screams as “intolerable”.
“I know that [o cântico] it was for the rival team and not something personal against me, but as a Muslim it is still a lack of respect and something intolerable”, he wrote on his social networks.
“To those who sing these things: using a religion as a joke in a stadium leaves you as ignorant and racist people,” he added.
Spain’s Justice Minister Félix Bolaños said hours after the match that racist insults were shameful for society.
The Catalan regional police stated, also on social media, that they are investigating the Islamophobic and xenophobic chants recorded at the RCDE Stadium.
Classified as a “worldwide shame” on the cover of the sports newspaper AS, the episode generated statements from the Spanish Federation (RFEF) and the national team’s coach, Luis de la Fuente.
“Violent people take advantage of football to have their space. We need to remove them from society, identify them and keep them as far away as possible”, said the coach in the press room after the match.
Rafael Louzán, president of the RFEF, classified the case as an “isolated accident that should not happen again.”
The Egyptian Football Federation stated, in its account on X, that “this type of action is completely unacceptable in football stadiums and constitutes a negative phenomenon that must be eradicated through a joint effort.”
The organization also said that the episode caused “by a small group of fans in the stands” will not affect the “solid relations between the Egyptian and Spanish football federations, especially after the warm welcome from the Egyptian delegation in Barcelona and the support and facilities offered.”
Frequent episodes of racism
Vinicius Junior, Brazilian striker for Real Madrid, has been a frequent target of racist insults in Spanish football in recent years. In January 2023, Atlético de Madrid fans hung a hanging doll with his image on a bridge near Real Madrid’s training center.
In 2025, five Real Valladolid fans who hurled racist insults at Vini in a 2022 match were found guilty of a hate crime, in the first trial of its kind in Spain relating to insults in a football stadium.
Several other incidents were recorded, the most recent in January this year, when Albacete fans chanted another racist chant against the Brazilian striker outside the Carlos Belmonte stadium, before the Spanish second division club eliminated Real Madrid from the Copa del Rey.
Other players, such as Lamine Yamal himself and the brothers Iñaki and Nico Williams, also received racist insults in different stadiums.
Spain will be one of the hosts of the 2030 World Cup alongside Portugal and Morocco, a tournament that will also have matches in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
The Spanish press stated that this type of incident could affect the organization of the tournament and lead FIFA to transfer the final to Morocco, although the decision is initially scheduled for Madrid.
