LaLiga to report racist abuse of Barça players

LaLiga will report racist insults aimed at Barcelona‘s players during the Clásico to police and prosecutors, the league said on Sunday.

Video footage appeared to show Lamine Yamal being insulted after scoring Barcelona’s third goal in the 4-0 win over Real Madrid at the Bernabéu.

LaLiga “energetically condemns” what happened, the league said.

“Given the events that occurred during the game between Real Madrid and Barcelona, in which intolerable racist behaviour was observed, LaLiga will immediately report the racist insults and gestures aimed at Barcelona players to the National Police’s Hate Crime Group, as well as informing the Coordinating Hate Crimes Prosecutor with the Hate Crime and Discrimination Unit at the State Attorney General’s Office,” the league said in a statement.

“LaLiga strongly condemns the events that occurred at the Santiago Bernabéu and remains firm in its commitment to eradicate any type of racist behaviour and hatred inside and outside stadiums. There is no place for this scourge in sport.”

Madrid condemned the abuse, saying the club has opened an investigation.

“Real Madrid strongly condemns any kind of behaviour involving racism, xenophobia or violence in football and sport, and deeply regrets the insults made by a few fans last night in one of the corners of the stadium,” Madrid said in a statement.

“Real Madrid has opened an investigation in order to locate and identify the perpetrators of these regrettable and despicable insults, in order to take the appropriate disciplinary and judicial measures.”

The Spanish government added that its commission in charge of fighting against violence, racism and other hate crimes in sport will meet on Monday to analyse events at the Bernabéu.

“The ‘Clasico‘ is one of the greatest spectacles in the world, a true expression of the importance that soccer has in our country,” the government said. “During this game, or in any sporting event, there can never be any room for expressions of violence, racism, xenophobia, hatred or intolerance.”

LaLiga has made a concerted effort to tackle racist abuse aimed at players by fans in recent years, with a number of high-profile cases involving Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior.

In June, three fans were found guilty of racially abusing Vinícius during a game at Valencia‘s Mestalla stadium in May 2023, in the first verdict of its kind in Spain.

Earlier this week, LaLiga held a conference — together with Madrid’s regional government — on tackling racism, prejudice and discrimination in football.

The league has called for legal reform to give it additional powers to deal directly with cases of racist abuse.

Saturday’s incident directed at Yamal took place as the winger celebrated scoring in Barcelona’s comprehensive 4-0 victory, in which Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha also scored.

The win put Barca six points clear at the top of the LaLiga table.

Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.