Whistles at Egypt's anthem, chants of “Muslim who doesn’t jump!”, insults to Pedro Sánchez and the essential “Spanish Gibraltar!”. What is this if not Torrente going to Cornellà-El Prat yesterday to cheer on the Spanish team?Bring, bring the Spanish team to Catalonia, so that all the Vox voters come out to make racist chants.Racist and stupid. Because, as an Ara reader says today in their comments, “you have to be an idiot to go to see a match of your team, start shouting racist cries and chants, and end up insulting the best player on your own team.” Because, of course, these patriots have forgotten that if there is a player who can decisively contribute to Spain winning the World Cup again one day, it is a player named Lamine Yamal and he is Muslim. Not to mention whistling the Barça goalkeeper and former Espanyol player Joan Garcia on his debut for the national team. And they were not minority chants. At the end of the match, when asked about racism and xenophobia, the coach Luis de la Fuente (the one who applauded Rubiales on the day of “I am not going to resign”) replied that these people, “the further away from society, the better.” Impossible for them to be far away, they are society. They are a fraction of society that has a voice and a vote (Vox in Spain) which is a vote that is very much in line with their voice.

"I used to work in a publishing house called Linkgua at 45 Muntaner street. I was an editor and proofreader. And one day at the door I meet a lady about 80 years old, Carme Humet Cocinero. And she asks me if I can hug her because she hasn't hugged a black person in 40 years," explains Arsenio Rodríguez Quintana (Havana, 1964). Rodríguez hugged her and asked why she had asked. "She told me that her aunt, Maria Cocinero, had married a black Cuban named Longinos Betancourt who was a doorman in a building in Urquinaona. And she added that the son of this couple had played for Barça. It blew my mind. I knew nothing, and I'm Cuban, black, and a Barça fan," he adds. "Thus began Rodríguez's investigation to publicize the figure of Francesc SiscuBetancourt y Cocinero (1913-1998), the first black player in Barça's history. "Betancourt came to find me. It was a sign. Unfortunately, his family wasn't very interested in remembering Siscu's figureand they threw away many documents. I'm very sorry. So I had to investigate," explains Rodríguez, who has just published Ciscu Betancourt, first black footballer of Barça and the Spanish league, a book to vindicate this player who defended the jersey of a lot of Catalan teams. He debuted at Fort Pienc in the 20s and in 1961 he was still linked to football at Sant Cugat, where he coached. In between, good spells at Barça, Sabadell or Badalona, even scoring a goal against Real Madrid with the blaugrana jersey.

Kylian Mbappé has suffered a series of physical ailments this season, forcing him to miss important matches. After a period of absence and a gradual return, his knee injury has once again put the spotlight on Real Madrid's medical management. In fact, according to French journalist Daniel Riolo, the club's medical staff may have made an error in the initial diagnosis of the player's injury, delaying his recovery by analyzing images of his right knee when the injury was actually in his left.

The Canary Islands referee Juan Luis Pulido Santana has sparked a new controversy following statements made on the Rogue Cast podcast, in which he harshly criticized former Catalan referee Xavier Estrada Fernández, whom he described as "a wretch" and "a sinister character." But the issue isn't just the insult itself, but the underlying message. During the interview, Pulido explicitly introduced a particularly sensitive element: Estrada's political ideology: "Now he's playing the nationalist, a total Catalan, but he was certainly getting paid by the Spanish Football Federation," he stated. He then added a highly symbolic remark: "When he officiated the Copa del Rey final, he had to bow down to the national anthem."

"It was almost like winning the Champions League. For any other team, it would have been just another victory, but for us, it's our first and it could be our last. What we endured was tough, quite difficult, but it was worth it," explains Sergi Pont (1998). Ribera de Ondara, the club from a town in the Segarra region with fewer than 500 inhabitants, recently broke a streak of 31 defeats and 412 days without a point with a hard-fought 4-3 victory against Santa Coloma de Queralt B, thanks to a brace from Pont. Their last win had been on January 11, 2025. This season, they had suffered seventeen defeats in seventeen matches in the fourth tier of Catalan football, the lowest division, with eight goals for and 98 against, including some particularly painful results: 13-0, 10-9, 2-10, 7-0. "When the referee blew the whistle, we couldn't believe it. We were all laughing, all shouting like mad, all freaking out. Our faces were beaming with joy and happiness," he says.

Alba Caño was born in 2003 in Puiggròs, a tiny village in Les Garrigues, where a deep passion for football grew from a very young age. She learned to play at the Les Garrigues Football School, later played for a few seasons with AEM Lleida, and at just fifteen years old, joined Barça, where she even played for the first team in the last two seasons. But to gain the playing time that the Barça stars weren't giving her, she decided to radically change teams. Since January, she has been a midfielder for Boston Legacy FC, a newly formed team in the American professional league (the NWSL)

The Hope League. Not all projects are named in a way that accurately reflects their underlying idea, but in this case, the name is perfectly chosen. The Hope League It's a project that uses football to unite the neighbors of northern Syria and Iraq, where years of war and religious fanaticism have caused so much damage. "In cities like Raqqa, we've managed to get members of families with ISIS militants to participate in the project, along with communities persecuted by ISIS," explains former Barça player Oleguer Presas. Chasing a ball, boys and girls from a region where hatred between communities and religions has left thousands dead, were creating hope. But in recent weeks, hatred has overtaken their dreams. The Syrian government's military escalation against the Kurdish autonomous region has changed everything.

The disallowed goal by Lamine Yamal has reopened the debate about the reliability of the SAOT system, the semi-automatic offside technology that determines whether a player is in an illegal position. This tool has been implemented in La Liga since the 2024-25 season and represents a significant improvement over the previous system, in which referees manually drew the lines. The system is called semi-automatic because it requires human intervention to resolve the play. The role of the VAR official is to determine the exact moment when the striker's teammate last touches the ball. From there, the program calculates whether the position is legal. In certain situations, the referee can choose between one or two options. framesSince slow-motion images make it difficult to establish with absolute precision when the ball last touches the player's foot, referees never know in advance how the play will unfold. To expedite the process and increase reliability, the ball would need to incorporate an official chip that would allow the exact moment of the last touch to be determined. However, La Liga rejected this option for economic reasons, as well as the implementation of a clock that alerts the referee when the ball has completely crossed the goal line in cases of phantom goals. A headache for the CTA (Technical Committee of Referees).

Hawk-Eye, the company responsible for the semi-automatic offside system, provides the broadcast team with a graphic representation to justify the VAR decision. The problem is that the shortcomings of this simulation raise more questions than answers: the mannequins are all the same height, wear the same shoes, and lack features like hair, which detracts from the image's realism. One of the most surreal representations occurred during last season's Real Sociedad-Barcelona match, when Robert Lewandowski's disproportionately large foot was shown to justify an offside call. This Sunday, also at Anoeta, an image was circulated showing Lamine Yamal perfectly aligned with the defender, but a second test had to be sent out, revealing that part of his heel was slightly forward.

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Nàstic's trajectory since the unexpected dismissal of Dani Vidal as first-team coach at the end of last season is more than worrying. Vidal was a coach who had connected with the fans, and the chances of fighting for promotion were still very much alive, but the club's board decided to fire him and bring back a historic coach, the architect of their promotion to La Liga, the Galician Luis César, with the sole objective of lifting the team out of the Primera Federación (Second Division). But Real Sociedad's reserve team dashed their hopes.

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The Africa Cup of Nations ended in a heartbreaking defeat for Morocco on Sunday. The host nation played the final at home, seemingly poised for victory against Senegal, but lost in extra time after conceding a stunning goal from Villarreal midfielder Pape Gueye. Beyond the scoreline, which left the crowd at the Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat reeling, the final's events cast a particularly harsh shadow over the Moroccan team, who, 24 hours after the final whistle, are still struggling to come to terms with the loss. Below, we review the embarrassing moments associated with what has been the most controversial Africa Cup of Nations final in recent memory.

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As is now tradition, the first official title of the year decided in Spanish football is the Spanish Super Cup. It is contested by the best teams of the previous season, which in this case are once again Barça – the reigning La Liga and Copa del Rey champions –, Real Madrid – the reigning La Liga and Copa del Rey runners-up –, Atlético de Madrid, and Athletic Club. The anomaly for the past few years has been the location of the semifinals and final: Saudi Arabia. By virtue of a multi-million euro agreement brokered by Gerard Piqué, which is currently being challenged in court, the Super Cup is played in the Arab country, which in recent years has injected a huge amount of money into football through a sovereign wealth fund. In fact, it will host the 2030 Men's World Cup. Most of the players participating in this edition of the Super Cup accept that money takes precedence over the fans who fill La Liga stadiums every weekend. However, Iñaki Williams, one of Athletic Club's key players, has spoken out to criticize the tournament's continued location so far from Barcelona, ​​Madrid, and Bilbao, where the participating teams are based this year. In public statements this Tuesday, the Navarrese striker was very clear in his assessment: "I've said it many times, and I don't mince words on these issues. For me, playing in Saudi Arabia is rubbish, to put it bluntly," said Williams, who elaborated on his country's history, not to mention the travel. "We [Athletic], because it's so much about socializing, feel like we're playing away from home."

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Life's twists and turns bring us together in the heart of El Vendrell. He's come to visit his family after a very intense year in Finland. Few believed he could make it. But with a fearless style and an extremely attacking mentality, 91 goals in 38 official matches, Ivan Piñol (1982) has overcome financial difficulties to achieve an unexpected promotion. Five years after being relegated, Turun Palloseura will once again compete in the Veikkausliiga, the top tier of Finnish football. It's been intense, but after many obstacles, he has found success in a country that has always welcomed him and embraces his courage. "Football is about emotions, and the greatest emotions arise when goals are celebrated. If we wanted to make some noise, we had to play rock 'n' roll. Attack, attack, and attack again," he says.

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Bravo to those who chose a nativity play, an afternoon of shopping at a crowded mall, the Saturday movie on public television, or simply staring out the window or even at the ceiling of their house rather than attend the spectacle that Getafe and Espanyol offered on a December night that won't go down in football history. But bravo also to the Espanyol fans' resilience, happy once again this weekend for a victory as unspectacular as it was important. It's their fourth consecutive win in La Liga and consolidates their position in European qualification for a team they haven't seen so high in the standings for fifteen years. The derby on January 3rd at Cornellà-El Prat will be interesting.

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Now that Busquets has retired from playing football, it's worth remembering the afternoon of his La Liga debut with Barça. It was September 2008. Pep Guardiola was also making his La Liga debut as a manager at the Camp Nou and, to everyone's surprise, he started the young man from Badia, who had just turned 20. They were coming off a 1-0 loss to Numancia, and that afternoon they drew 1-1 with Racing Santander. One point out of six and only one goal scored, a penalty. Only Cruyff came out to defend the team's performance in an article in which, as usual, he contradicted everyone: "This Barça looks very promising. I don't know which match you all saw, but what I saw hadn't been seen at the Camp Nou for a long time. Numerically speaking, it's the worst start of..."

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Francoism was dying, but it wanted to go down fighting, and on September 27, 1975, the regime carried out its last five executions. Two alleged members of ETA and three from FRAP were shot after torture and a judicial process riddled with irregularities and flagrant injustices, in accordance with a law created specifically for this purpose and applied retroactively. The death sentences generated a huge wave of indignation and mobilizations both within and beyond Spain's borders, with attacks on many Spanish embassies. Pope Paul VI pleaded for "clemency," the president of Mexico called for Spain's suspension from the United Nations, and the president of Sweden walked through the streets of Stockholm with a collection box to raise money "for the freedom of Spain." But the regime responded with violence. In fact, the parish priest of Hoyo de Manzanares, the Madrid municipality where the FRAP members were executed, told Interview"More police arrived in buses to cheer the executions. Many were drunk. When I went to administer last rites to one of the men being shot, he was still breathing. A lieutenant approached and fired the coup de grâce without giving me time to move away. Blood splattered me."

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The Sant Andreu Sports Union (UESA) is a century-old sports club currently enjoying a period of great success. Membership, which was under a thousand in 2020, has grown exponentially in the last five years, now exceeding 5,000 season ticket holders. The close relationship between the club, players, and fans is one of the reasons why supporters of Barça or Espanyol are drawn to Sant Andreu as their second or even first team. Initiatives like Avisgol, a team of senior citizens who play what's known as walking football, further strengthen the bond between the club and its members, especially the older ones. Walking football, or foot football, is a new variant that aims to reduce the risk of injury by eliminating physical contact. To prevent anyone from getting hurt, running, touching the ball more than three times, or playing it above head height are not permitted. The remaining rules are still in the experimental phase, but all are based on the principle of prioritizing the safety of the players' bodies. The aim is to adapt the classic rules of the sport to a safe practice for older people, who cannot be subjected to collisions, 50/50 balls, tackles or other actions of traditional football, because they compromise their physical integrity.

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Jean-Christophe Deveney (Hyères, France, 1977) had an idea nagging at him: to create a good comic about football that could critique the darker side of the sport while simultaneously expressing the love it inspires, a game where idealism still has a place. But this writer and comic book scriptwriter often found doors closed to him, even though France is the land where comics are most valued. But football was losing that battle and couldn't break through the defenses of the European comic book industry, beyond older titles like Eric Castle.

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When looking for activities that break the ice between people, no matter how culturally distant they may be, Ric Fernández (Santander, 1982) chose soccer. "Soccer can be a way to let off steam, but it's also an art, and it's very inclusive. You don't even need a ball; you can play with a bottle of Fanta between two sweatshirts. Who gives you that? The dance? Do you need the music? The drink? You need the bar, the money, the drink, the connection," explains this journalist and aid worker in a video call between the Cantabrian region of Valles Pasiegos and Barcelona, which had to be done twice because the interviewer didn't record the audio correctly on the first attempt.

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The most rational prediction came true. Barça had everything against them (last year's four thrashings, absences, a slow, hesitant start to the season), and the three points stayed in Madrid.

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1. Barça lost 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu on an afternoon that no one will remember for a year. In a poor but entertaining match for spectators who were neither on either side, everything seemed to happen in the first half, but nothing happened in the second. And that favored the home team, who had everything going for them: the scoreboard, the intensity, the depth of the bench, and a motivated crowd that gave their all this Sunday because they were fired up at Chamartín. About the referee? More on that later. After the break, something significant did happen. Szczesny saved a penalty from Mbappé. It would have made it 3-1 and practically sealed the deal. But the Polish goalkeeper rounded off one of his best performances since leaving golden retirement in Marbella to do Barça a favor and enhance his resume. Yesterday, the Pole, aside from the penalty, made seven very good saves. But when the man with the gloves is the best on your team, it's a bad sign. Yesterday, Barça barely created any scoring chances; they were incredibly inaccurate, and it proved that faith, football, and the generosity of Pedri and De Jong's efforts aren't enough. More must be done well to beat a rival with a great squad and, so far, a very disjointed team. After eleven matches, Madrid leads Barça by five points. Too far. But we're not at Tots Sants yet, and therefore, there's still plenty of La Liga left for the team to rebuild. But right now, the list of absences, Flick's disorientation, the unnecessary noise, and the refereeing obsession will make it very difficult to win this La Liga. We're just scraping by.

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