On Tuesday, a football friendly between Spain and Egypt concluded in a goalless draw. However, the match was unfortunately overshadowed by racist chants aimed at the visiting Egyptian side by a segment of fans inside the RCDE Stadium.
During the first half, discriminatory chants, including “whoever doesn’t jump is a Muslim,” were audible throughout the stadium. This followed pre-match booing during the Egyptian national anthem. A significant number of supporters expressed their disapproval by whistling at those initiating the offensive chants. Spain’s head coach, Luis de la Fuente, issued a strong condemnation after the match, as reported by Marca.
De la Fuente stated, “Everyone shares the same opinion: this is intolerable. We reject it absolutely. I believe they acted well with the warning displayed on the scoreboard. The vast majority have whistled at the unpresentable individuals. The violent elements are not truly part of football; they merely exploit the sport, much like they exploit other aspects of life. We must turn our backs on them.”
Louzan: We condemn this type of situation
Following the match at the RCDE Stadium, Rafael Louzan, president of the Spanish Football Federation, also addressed the media. Quoted by Marca, he too denounced the chants.
Louzan expressed gratitude to the fans from Barcelona for nearly filling the stadium, but swiftly added, “At the same time, we condemn these specific and isolated situations that occurred. Sport and football should serve as an example, not exhibit such behavior. We have displayed condemnations of these attitudes on the video scoreboards, emphasizing that they must not happen again.”
Louzan further confirmed that he had extended an apology to the president of the Egyptian Football Federation, who was in attendance at the RCDE Stadium. He also paid tribute to the entire delegation that traveled from the North African country.
“There was an extraordinary atmosphere of cordiality with the Egyptian delegation. I thanked the president of the federation for being here, and I also apologized (for the chants),” Louzan elaborated.
