Spanish football authorities condemn anti-Muslim abuse from fans during a goalless pre-World Cup friendly against Egypt in Barcelona.
SPAIN’S football federation and national team coach have condemned anti-Muslim chants that marred a goalless pre-World Cup friendly against Egypt.
The match at RCDE Stadium was overshadowed by sections of the 35,000-strong crowd jeering Egypt’s national anthem and making offensive comments.
Federation president Rafael Louzan described the incidents as “specific and isolated situations”. He stated they had condemned such attitudes and insisted they must not be repeated.
Coach Luis de la Fuente was unequivocal in his criticism, calling the behaviour “intolerable”. The 64-year-old said violent people use football to carve out a space for themselves.
“They must be removed from society, identified, and kept as far away as possible,” de la Fuente told reporters.
It is the latest in a series of similar incidents to overshadow Spanish football in recent years. Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior has been repeatedly subjected to racial abuse.
The friendly, moved from Qatar due to the Middle East conflict, was played in a hostile atmosphere from the start. The public announcement system appealed multiple times for fans to refrain from offensive chants.
On the pitch, the European champions were wasteful in their penultimate home friendly before the World Cup. Spain face Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay in Group H this summer.
De la Fuente made 10 changes from Friday’s 3-0 win over Serbia, with Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal the only retained player. Egypt were without talisman Mohamed Salah, who is recovering from a muscle injury.
Ferran Torres missed a good chance for Spain after 20 minutes. Egypt’s Omar Marmoush then hit the post against the run of play just before the half-hour mark.
Pedri was denied after 57 minutes and Cristhian Mosquera headed wide 13 minutes later as Spain dominated the second half. Egypt were reduced to 10 men when Hamdy Fathy received a second yellow card with six minutes remaining.
Alejandro Grimaldo hit the crossbar two minutes later in Spain’s final chance to win the game. Spain are reportedly set to play Iraq on June 4 before facing Peru in Mexico four days later in their final World Cup preparations.
