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Rabat – Former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has faced strong criticism in France and Spain after questioning the identity of the French national team ahead of its World Cup semifinal against La Roja.
Rajoy remarked in a column published by Spanish newspaper El Debate after Spain’s 2-1 quarterfinal win over Belgium.
While describing France as a formidable opponent with a top-level squad, Rajoy added: “That said, without Frenchmen.”
The comment was widely interpreted as referring to the African and immigrant backgrounds of several France players.
Most France players were born in France
All 26 players selected by Didier Deschamps are French citizens.
Twenty-three were born in France, while only Michael Olise, Marcus Thuram and Brice Samba were born abroad. Olise has a French mother, Thuram was born in Italy while his father played there, and Samba was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
🧐 La columna de @marianorajoy | ‘Hoy llegó el desquite’
«A los belgas se les conoce como los Diablos Rojos y a mí no me gustan ni los diablos, ni los rojos. Así que esta victoria me sabe mejor»
«Francia tiene, además, una plantilla de altísimo nivel. Eso sí, sin franceses» pic.twitter.com/uAkBj8cJMO
— El Debate (@eldebate_com) July 10, 2026
Rajoy’s statement therefore led to accusations that he was judging the players’ nationality through their family origins or skin color rather than their citizenship.
The former conservative leader served as Spain’s prime minister between 2011 and 2018.
French officials condemn comment
France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez described the remark as “absolutely unacceptable.”
Nuñez said Rajoy’s words did not represent the reality of France, describing the country as a diverse society where people from different backgrounds can find their place.
French Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure said the national team consists entirely of French people and rejected the idea that French identity is determined by ethnicity, religion or skin color.
French Football Federation President Philippe Diallo also condemned the former Spanish leader’s statement, saying France’s players did not need a nationality certificate from Rajoy. The FFF chief described the remark as carrying an intolerable suggestion of racism.
France’s embassy in Madrid also responded by noting that every player in the squad is French and that 23 of the 26 were born in the country.
Spain’s government responds
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez joined the criticism, describing Rajoy’s statement as xenophobic.
Sánchez said some people still measure belonging through surnames, birthplace or skin color, while others judge it through a person’s connection and contribution to a country.
“May the best team win and may racism lose,” Sánchez wrote ahead of the semifinal.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares called the comment hurtful and dangerous, adding that racism and xenophobia did not represent Spain.
Rajoy’s Popular Party defended him, saying the line was intended as sarcasm and was not meant maliciously. Critics, however, argued that the wording repeated a familiar attempt to question the nationality of French players with immigrant roots.
The dispute follows another racism controversy involving France captain Kylian Mbappé during the same World Cup.
Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla posted racist insults about Mbappé after his penalty eliminated Paraguay in France’s 1-0 round-of-16 victory.
Mbappé described Amarilla’s comments as racist and called her unworthy of public office. The French federation filed a complaint, while the Paraguayan government and Senate distanced themselves from her remarks.
French political figures have now drawn comparisons between Amarilla’s attack and Rajoy’s statement, arguing that both questioned whether players with African family backgrounds could be considered French.
The row comes shortly before France and Spain meet in the World Cup semifinals on Tuesday.
Spain reached the final four by defeating Belgium 2-1, while France advanced after eliminating Morocco in the quarterfinals.
Rajoy had originally used his column to praise Spain’s run and assess the challenge presented by France.
He noted that Les Bleus had won every match at the tournament and described them as one of the strongest teams remaining.
His comment about the identity of the French players, however, quickly overshadowed his football analysis.
The semifinal was already one of the tournament’s most anticipated matches.
It will now take place against the background of another debate over racism, nationality and the repeated targeting of France’s multicultural national team.
