Spanish government joins investigation into racist insults

The Spanish government, LaLiga and Real Madrid reacted strongly on Sunday after racist insults were allegedly directed at Barcelona players during Saturday’s matchat the Santiago Bernabeu.

Spanish media reported that 17-year-old Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal, who is of Equatorial Guinean and Moroccan heritage, was targeted with xenophobic and racist abuse. Barcelona beat arch-rivals Real 4-0 with Yamal among the scorers.

The Spanish Supreme Sports Council (CSD) released a statement condemning racist incidents during El Clasico and will meet on Monday to discuss the case.

The State Commission against Violence, Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Sports, which is in charge of studying the case, includes the CSD, the Spanish police, the Civil Guard, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), LaLiga and the State Attorney General’s Office.

“LaLiga will immediately report the racist insults and gestures received by Barcelona players to the Hate Crimes Section of the National Police Information Brigade, as well as informing the Coordinating Prosecutor of the Hate Crimes and Discrimination Unit of the State Attorney General’s Office,” LaLiga added in a statement.

“LaLiga vehemently condemns the incidents at the Santiago Bernabeu and remains firm in its commitment to eradicate any kind of racist behaviour and hatred inside and outside stadiums.”

Real Madrid said they had opened an investigation to identify the perpetrators so that appropriate action can be taken.

“Real Madrid strongly condemns any kind of behaviour involving racism, xenophobia or violence in football and sport, and deeply regrets the insults that a few fans uttered last night in one of the corners of the stadium,” the club said in a statement.

Barcelona did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Spain’s minister for Migration and Inclusion, Elma Saiz, also condemned the incident.

“We will not allow aggressions that we do not tolerate in other spaces to become normalized in sports,” she said in a statement on Sunday.

The RFEF and LaLiga have taken steps to tackle an increase in racist abuse with measures including partial stadium closures.

Four people were arrested and questioned in Spain on Thursday on suspicion of conducting an online hate campaign encouraging fans to racially abuse Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr. in the buildup to their match against Atletico Madrid last month.

In June, the Magistrate’s Court of Valencia issued the first conviction for racist insults in a soccer stadium in Spain.