At a glance
- FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick backed his star player Lamine Yamal amid a racist chanting row in Spain.
- During La Roja’s 0-0 draw with Egypt midweek, fans at Espanyol’s RCDE Stadium sang “Whoever doesn’t jump is a Muslim”.
- Like Lamine, Flick condemned the chants and called those behind them a “group of idiots”.
FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick supported his winger Lamine Yamal on Friday, and called those that sang racist chants midweek in the RCDE Stadium a “group of idiots”.
In scenes that shocked the world, “whoever doesn’t jump is a Muslim” was sung by a large portion of the crowd at Espanyol’s ground during a 0-0 draw between Spain and Egypt.
In response, Lamine, who lives a few kilometres from Cornella in Barcelona’s western suburbs, took to social media the following day to call the behaviour “disrespectful and intolerable” as part of an emotional post shared to 40 million instagram followers.
When asked about the furore at a prematch press conference to preview Saturday’s away trip to Atletico Madrid, Flick was just as strong-worded.
FC Barcelona boss Flick has zero tolerance for bigots
“I think Lamine made a fantastic statement. In football we are for inclusion,” Flick said. “It’s frustrating, it’s a small group of idiots who don’t understand this.”
“It’s time to reflect and think about what we want in life and in football. We don’t want racism. We must all stand united, and we all want to be respected regardless of our race or religion. It’s time to change all of this,” Flick continued.
“It’s about everyone being together. We all want to be respected, no matter your skin, race, anything.”
Flick did just as expected
In a surprise to nobody, Flick backed his player in a vulnerable moment and took a stand against something that needs stamping out of the sport and society.
Lamine will feel seen and loved as a consequence, which bodes well for him producing his best form on the pitch as Barça approach crunch time in 2025/2026.
Culers will remember the remontada that Lamine helped launch in the Metropolitano in this weekend’s away fixture last term, after the Catalans trailed 2-0 early to the home side.
With Lamine and Raphinha on top form, however, Flick’s men came out 2-4 winners to the delight of 300 Culers in the away end, of which ReadBarcelona editor Tom Sanderson was one.
The same opposition awaits in the Champions League quarterfinals to be played over the next fornight, and Lamine can now put his international duty anger behind him by focusing on becoming a European kind for club and not just country.
