Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has acknowledged a conversation with star player Lamine Yamal regarding the teenager’s decision to display a Palestine flag from the team’s open-top bus parade on Monday. The event was a celebration of Barcelona’s La Liga and Spanish Super Cup victories this season, but Yamal’s gesture brought significant attention.
The parade featured various displays of flags, including Robert Lewandowski waving an Estelada (a flag supporting Catalan independence) and Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez wearing shirts that read ‘Thank God I’m not a Madridista’. However, it was Lamine Yamal holding a large Palestinian flag that garnered the most headlines.
Hansi Flick: ‘This I Normally Don’t Like’
When questioned about Lamine Yamal’s action, Flick conveyed his displeasure, emphasizing his belief that the focus should remain on football achievements rather than political statements.
“This I normally don’t like,” Flick stated. “I spoke with him, and I said if he wants this, he is old enough, he is 18 years old, and it’s his decision. We are playing football, and you can see what the people expect from us. When I see the crowd, they were very emotional, tears in their eyes. They were really happy that we won again, this fantastic title, the second in a row, and this is why we are playing football.”
Flick went on to commend the team’s performance throughout the season.
“This is for me the first thing we have to do, to make the people happy. I’m really proud of the players. I told them today that they played a fantastic season, it was not easy, because we had a lot of injuries – Lamine, Raphinha, Pedri, Frenkie – so it’s amazing what a season we played. I said to them that we improved a lot the last two months. This is why we won this title, because we improved a lot with the defence, and I think we are the team with the best goals against record, and nobody expected this in the middle of the season.”
Lamine Yamal Not the First to Raise Palestine Flag
Lamine Yamal is not the only La Liga player to have displayed the Palestine flag this season. Supporters at Rayo Vallecano have frequently shown their support for Palestine. Following their Conference League semi-final win over RC Strasbourg, Villarreal loanee Ilias Akhomach retrieved a Palestine flag from the crowd and placed it before the Rayo players during their celebrations.