The Mossos are investigating the Islamophobic chants from the Spain-Egypt match
The Government criticizes the organizers' lack of reaction and defends that "surely" the match should have been stopped
BarcelonaThe Mossos d'Esquadra have announced that they will investigate the Islamophobic chants that this Wednesday marked the Spain-Egypt football match in Cornellà-El Prat. The force made it public with a tweet on X, without giving further details: "We are investigating yesterday's Islamophobic and xenophobic chants at the RCDE Stadium during the friendly match Spain-Egypt," the publication limits itself to saying. An announcement that comes after the Minister of Sports, Berni Álvarez, has "resoundingly" condemned the events that took place at the periquito stadium and has expressed his "concern" both for what he has described as a "serious episode" and for the reaction of the match organization.
"They were slow with the protocols," said Álvarez in statements to SER Catalunya, from where he defended that the match "surely" should have been stopped. The minister, who explained that at halftime he communicated his opinion to those responsible for the Spanish and Catalan federations, considered that the warnings made to the public via the big screen and loudspeakers should have come much earlier, "just as the match started," to demonstrate more "forcefulness."
Once the match, which marked the return of the Spanish team to Catalonia and ended in a goalless draw, was over, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Rafael Louzán, condemned the shouts of "Muslim who doesn't jump" that were chanted from the stands, but wanted to downplay their significance, calling them "occasional and isolated situations." He later regretted the impact of the events on the "image" of sport and football, which should be an "example."
Far from considering it an anecdotal fact, the Minister of Sports, who attributed the chants to the "far-right", stated that "everything was very organized". "The sensation on the field was that many of the people who were singing, probably had no connection with the world of sports", he said, distancing Espanyol's fans and the Perico club from the "discourse of hate" that marked the match of the Roja. Thus, although he said that he "would perfectly understand" if FIFA imposed some kind of sanction for the events experienced in Cornellá, he asked to "try to ensure that the people in the stadium and Espanyol are not seriously affected".
"A sector of people in the stadium"
Regarding the Spanish government, the Ministry of Education and Sports has issued a statement in which it condemns "with the utmost firmness" the chants "of a xenophobic and racist nature" that "a group of fans" uttered. The delegate of the state executive in Catalonia, Carlos Prieto, has also attributed them to "a sector of people in the stands." "At those moments, we already informed the organizers to activate the pertinent protocols, which was done," Prieto said via X, considering the reaction in the stadium to be good —unlike the Catalan government—. "But the stain remains there and should make us reflect as a society," he added.
In a similar vein, the Spanish coach, Luis de la Fuente, already expressed himself this Wednesday, stating his "total and absolute repudiation" of "any racist, xenophobic, and disrespectful attitude." The coach said that the chants had been "intolerable," although he qualified that "the vast majority of the stadium" had booed the "unpresentable" individuals who launched the Islamophobic slogans. "They must be identified and removed from society," he sentenced.
While awaiting possible sanctions, the image projected in Cornellà comes during the full preparation for the 2030 World Cup, which Spain, Portugal, and Morocco are organizing, and of which Barcelona wants to be one of the main host cities. In this regard, counselor Álvarez has said he is confident that all of this will not have repercussions. "We have to work hard so that, beyond the sporting organization [...] this discourse of hate diminishes." In the Spanish government's statement, in fact, it is highlighted that the conduct seen in the stadium "does not represent, in any case, the immense majority of Spanish fans, who understand and experience sport as a space of respect and coexistence."
Puigdemont points to the PSC
In addition to the shouts against Islam – which overlooked that Lamine Yamal, the star of the Spanish team and who was precisely applauded, is Muslim –, the stadium also heard slogans such as "Pedro Sánchez, son of a bitch", "Gibraltar is Spanish" and "Puigdemont to prison". A cocktail that the former president of the Generalitat has attributed to "the Hispanizing agenda of the PSC". "To cancel Catalanism, they stir up Spanish nationalism", tweeted the independence leader, in response to another publication that criticized the fact of bringing the Spanish team to Catalonia.
On the other hand, the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, has denounced that "what happened yesterday in Cornellá is the consequence of what the racist and xenophobic right has fueled for years", a situation that he believes has the "complicity" of some media outlets that "today are not putting their hand to their head". "It is fascism, friends", he has stressed.