An international friendly football match between Spain and Egypt in Barcelona has sparked widespread backlash after a section of fans directed Islamophobic and xenophobic chants at the Egyptian national team, drawing sharp condemnation from Spanish star winger Lamine Yamal, the country’s football governing body and head coach. The 0-0 draw, played on Tuesday at Espanyol’s RCDE Stadium, was originally scheduled to take place in Qatar but was relocated to Barcelona amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
During the first half of the match, Spanish law enforcement confirmed that offensive, discriminatory chants targeting the Egyptian delegation were audible from the stands. Stadium officials attempted to intervene twice during the game: first at halftime, an on-screen warning was broadcast to spectators calling for an end to xenophobic language and chanting, with a second reminder displayed early in the second half. The intervention was met with boos and whistles from some fans in the crowd. Currently, Catalan law enforcement has launched a formal investigation into the recorded Islamophobic and xenophobic incidents.
Eighteen-year-old Lamine Yamal, Spain’s breakout star who finished runner-up in the 2025 Ballon d’Or and was a key part of Spain’s 2024 European Championship winning squad, spoke out about the incident on his personal Instagram. As a practising Muslim, Yamal emphasized that even though the chants were aimed at the opposing Egyptian side rather than himself personally, the abuse remained unacceptable. “Using a religion as a taunt on the field makes you ignorant and racist,” Yamal wrote. “Football is for enjoying and cheering, not for disrespecting people for who they are or what they believe.”
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) echoed Yamal’s criticism in an official social media statement, releasing a firm rebuke of the discriminatory behavior. “The RFEF stands against racism in football and condemns any act of violence inside stadiums,” the federation said. Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente went a step further, calling the offensive chants “intolerable” and arguing that bad actors have exploited football platforms to spread hate. “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 added.
Beyond the off-pitch controversy, the match itself delivered a 0-0 stalemate that carried implications for Spain’s global ranking. De la Fuente made 10 changes to his starting lineup from Spain’s previous 3-0 friendly win over Serbia, with Yamal the only player retained in the starting XI. Egypt were missing star forward Mohamed Salah, who missed the fixture through injury. As co-hosts of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, Spain dropped out of the top spot in the men’s global FIFA rankings following the drawn result.