Spain international Lamine Yamal has criticized sections of Spanish fans for anti-Muslim chants during Spain’s friendly match against Egypt, saying such behavior should not be tolerated in football.The incident occurred at the RCDE Stadium on Tuesday, with parts of the crowd being heard chanting: “bote, bote, bote musulman el que no bote”, which means “jump, jump, jump, whoever does not jump is a Muslim.” The chant was heard again later in the first half and shortly after halftime.After the chants, an announcement in the stadium asked fans not to use racist, homophobic or xenophobic language, and the same message was shown on the big screen.
This announcement was met with whistles from some sections of the crowd.Egypt is a Muslim majority country. Yamal, the 18-year-old Spanish player, is also a devout Muslim and has spoken about his faith before.“I am a Muslim, thank God,” he wrote on Instagram.“Yesterday on the field, we heard the chant ‘Whoever doesn’t jump is a Muslim’. I know it was directed at the opposing team and not something towards me as a person, but as a Muslim, this never ceases to be disrespectful and something we cannot tolerate.”
“I don’t understand that all fanbases are like this, but for those who sing those chants: using religion as something to mock people on the football field leaves you as ignorant and racist people. Football is about having fun and supporting, not abusing people by who they are or what they believe.”“However, thanks to the fans who came to support us. See you at the World Cup.”Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa also responded to the incident, saying that Spain is a tolerant and not a racist country, despite what happened during the match.The chant, which is usually used by Spanish fans at matches, was directed at the opposition in this case, referring to the country rather than a specific individual.The Royal Spanish Football Federation condemned the chants that followed the match. Yamal’s Barcelona teammates, Pedri and Joan Garcia, also spoke out against the incident. Spain’s Minister of Education, Vocational Training and Sports issued a similar message of condemnation on Wednesday.
