Dumsha Wijesinghe JadeTimes Staff
W.G.S.D.Wijesinghe is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Sports News
La Liga and Real Madrid have issued strong condemnations following racist abuse directed at Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal during Saturday's El Clasico at the Bernabeu. Social media videos appear to capture sections of the home crowd taunting the 17 year old as he celebrated his goal in the 77th minute, pointing to his name on his jersey.
Barcelona’s victory, led by Robert Lewandowski’s two goals and a finish by Raphinha, ended in a decisive 4-0 win, extending their lead by six points over Real Madrid in the La Liga standings.
La Liga promptly responded with a statement, saying, "La Liga will immediately report the racist insults and gestures targeting Barcelona players to the Hate Crimes Section of the National Police Information Brigade and will also inform the Co ordinating Prosecutor of the Hate Crimes and Discrimination unit of the State Attorney General’s office. La Liga strongly condemns these incidents at the Santiago Bernabeu and remains steadfast in its mission to eliminate all forms of racism and hatred, both inside and outside the stadiums."
Real Madrid also announced an internal investigation to identify those responsible. The club’s statement declared, "Real Madrid condemns all forms of racism, xenophobia, and violence in football and deeply regrets the insults directed at a player by a few individuals in one area of the stadium. Real Madrid has launched an investigation to locate and identify those responsible for these unacceptable actions to ensure proper disciplinary and legal measures are taken."
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and La Liga have recently intensified efforts to address a rise in racist incidents, implementing policies such as partial stadium closures. In a related incident last week, four individuals were arrested over an alleged online hate campaign targeting Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr., encouraging supporters to racially abuse the 24 year old Brazilian while concealing their identities. In June, three Valencia fans received eight-month prison sentences for racially abusing Vinicius during a May 2023 match.
