La Liga, Real Madrid Condemn Racist Abuse Aimed At Yamal

La Liga and Real Madrid have strongly condemned racist abuse directed at Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal during Saturday’s El Clasico at the Bernabeu.

Social media videos show a section of home fans allegedly taunting the 17-year-old Spaniard as he celebrated his 77th-minute goal, pointing to his name on the back of his shirt in response.

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Barcelona secured a dominant 4-0 victory, with Robert Lewandowski scoring twice and Raphinha adding another, moving them six points ahead of their rivals at the top of La Liga.

A La Liga statement read: “La Liga 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 Co-ordinating Prosecutor of the Hate Crimes and Discrimination unit of the State Attorney General’s office.

“La Liga 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 earlier said they had opened an investigation to identify the fans.

A club statement read: “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.

“Real Madrid has opened an investigation in order to locate and identify the perpetrators of these deplorable and despicable insults so that the appropriate disciplinary and judicial measures can be taken.”

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The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and La Liga have introduced new measures, including partial stadium closures, to combat a rise in racist abuse.

Last week, authorities arrested four individuals accused of running an online hate campaign targeting Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr., which allegedly encouraged fans to racially abuse the 24-year-old Brazilian while wearing black face masks to evade identification.

In June, three Valencia fans received eight-month prison sentences for racially abusing Vinicius during a match in May 2023.

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