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Spanish-Moroccan sports journalist Leyla Hamed has filed a formal complaint after being subjected to racist abuse and intimidation on social media.
In a statement posted online, Hamed wrote: “Today I filed my first complaint for racism and intimidation”.
She added that the action was taken not only for herself but for everyone who continues to endure similar abuse.
She specifically accused social media user Ana Surriba of issuing open threats against her online. In her message, Hamed stressed the wider significance of the complaint, stating: ‘We cannot normalize this for one more day. This is for me and for all of us who continue to suffer it’.
Hoy he puesto mi primera denuncia por racismo e intimidación.
Ana Surriba @AnaSurriba, intento de política fracasada, me ha amenazado abiertamente en redes.
No podemos normalizar esto ni un día más. Esto es por mí y por todos los que seguimos sufriéndolo. pic.twitter.com/DOsB5RmgtZ
— Leyla Hamed (@leylahamed) April 2, 2026
The abusive message directed at Hamed contained explicitly racist and xenophobic language. The post used the derogatory phrase ‘little Moors’ in reference to people of Moroccan origin and distinguished “real Spaniards” and “others,” reflecting a language that is exclusionary and discriminatory. The heinous message also reads: “ If you want to live in Spain, you’d better keep quiet,” a statement clearly seen as an attempt to silence and intimidate her.
The comment then escalated in tone by warning that she would “find out what an angry real Spaniard is like,” a rhetoric that could easily be interpreted as openly threatening.
Additional references to “put[ting] the Legion on the borders” and forcing people to “make a living as porters” added a political and xenophobic dimension to the abuse, invoking border control and ethnic exclusion as tools of intimidation.
The message also invoked historical grievances, referencing Tangier, the Green March, and past events in Morocco. However, the language used shifted into direct personal intimidation and racist targeting.
Hamed’s complaint comes just two days after Spain was engulfed in a separate racism and Islamophobia controversy during the national team’s friendly match against Egypt at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona. During the match, sections of the crowd repeatedly chanted “Quien no salte es musulmán” (‘Whoever doesn’t jump is a Muslim’), prompting outrage across Spain and internationally. Catalan police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, have opened a hate crime investigation, while Justice Minister Félix Bolaños said the chants “shame us as a society.”
The incident was also condemned by Spain winger Lamine Yamal, who described the chants as “disrespectful and intolerable” and denounced the use of religion as a form of mockery in football. Spain coach Luis de la Fuente also expressed his “total and absolute repulsion” at the xenophobic behavior.
Taken together, the two incidents have reignited debate over racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia in Spain, particularly in public discourse and sport.
Hamed is refusing to stay silent about the way racist bullying has become ‘normal’ online. She’s pushing for real consequences and better safety for anyone facing targeted hate.
