MADRID.- The FIFA confirmed this Tuesday to AFP the opening of a disciplinary procedure against the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) for the Islamophobic chants produced during the friendly match Spain-Egypt played in Barcelona last week.
This match, between two nations already qualified for the World Cup 2026 and that was played in the Cornellá stadium, fiefdom of the Espanyol from Barcelonawas disturbed by Islamophobic chants (“Muslim he who doesn’t bounce”) sung by some of the Spanish fans.
This incident caused a wave of indignation in Spain, as well as the opening of an investigation by the Catalan regional police.
The socialist president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sanchezattacked the “minority” of fans who “tainted” the image of Spain a day after the events. The Spanish nation will be the future organizer of the World Cup 2030 next to Portugal and Moroccoa Muslim-majority country.
The prodigy of FC Barcelona and star of La Roja, Lamine Yamalof Muslim faith, denounced, for his part, some chants that he described as “intolerable lack of respect.”
Despite the efforts of the authorities and several convictions by the courts, this case once again highlights the difficulties of Spanish football in eradicating racism and xenophobia in its stadiums, where incidents have multiplied in recent months.
The Brazilian star real Madrid, Vinicius Juniorwho has become a symbol of the fight against racism in football, has frequently been the target of harassment since his arrival in Madrid in 2018. But only a portion of these incidents led to sanctions.
Nasri denies millionaire debt
The former French international footballer Samir Nasri denied a debt of 5.5 million euros (6.4 million dollars) that the treasury of Francehis lawyers indicated this Tuesday.
The French newspaper Les Echos revealed on March 31 that the French treasury provisionally seized the former player of the Manchester City the equivalent of 5.5 million euros in cash and real estate.
The treasury, the newspaper wrote, opened a procedure for 5.25 million euros in income tax claims for the period 2020-2022 and 82,000 euros in real estate tax claims from 2019 to 2025.
