MADRID (Reuters) – The Spanish government strongly condemned on Sunday racist acts and insults against FC Barcelona players during a match on Saturday at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in Madrid.
Spain’s Superior Sports Council (CSD), the government’s sports policy body, said it would meet on Monday to discuss the matter.
On Saturday, Barça beat their great rival, Real, with a score of 4-0. According to Spanish media, the racist insults uttered by Real Madrid supporters during the Clasico particularly targeted Barcelona striker Lamine Yamal, 17.
LaLiga, the Spanish first division football championship, and Real Madrid strongly condemned on Sunday the racist actions and remarks of certain supporters.
“LaLiga will immediately report the insults and racist gestures against FC Barcelona players to the hate crimes section of the National Police Information Brigade, as well as to the coordinating prosecutor of the crimes unit of Hate and Discrimination from the State Attorney General’s Office,” LaLiga said in a statement.
For its part, Real Madrid declared that it had opened an investigation to identify the perpetrators of these insults so that measures could be taken.
“Real Madrid strongly condemns any type of behavior involving racism, xenophobia or violence in football and sport, and deeply regrets the insults that some supporters uttered last night in one of the corners of the stadium,” said the club in a press release.
FC Barcelona did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Spanish Immigration Minister Elma Saiz also condemned the incident.
“We will not allow attacks that we do not tolerate in other spaces to become normal in sport,” she said in a statement.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said it has a zero-tolerance policy towards abuse and racist violence in stadiums, calling it a “social scourge”.
“The RFEF will work with all people and institutions that are part of sport and society to put an end to violence and insults in sporting venues and events,” she added.
On Thursday, Spanish police announced they had arrested and questioned four people suspected of leading an online hate campaign encouraging fans to insult Real Madrid striker Vinicius Jr, before releasing them while the investigation continues.
(Written by Shifa Jahan in Bangalore and Ana Cantero in Madrid; French version Kate Entringer)