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Rabat – Lamine Yamal has responded to Mariano Rajoy’s controversial words against the France squad.
In an opinion piece published by the newspaper El Debate, Rajoy had described the French team as being made up of players who are not really French. “They have a top-level squad. That said, they don’t have any French players,” said the former Spanish Prime Minister, pointing to the immigrant background of most French players.
Lamine Yamal, born and raised in Spain to a Moroccan father and a Guinean mother, believes that football is very important for integrating into society, regardless of your geographic background.
“I think tomorrow we are going to play a crucial match, and if football serves a purpose, it is to integrate into society,” Lamine said at a press conference. “France and Spain are the examples for this, but in football there is no space to talk about this,” added the 19-year-old winger.
Yamal is not the only Spanish player who mentioned this situation: “I can understand that he didn’t say it with bad intentions, but we need to be more vigilant about this kind of remark,” added Borja Iglesias, referring to Rajoy.
This incident came shortly after Senator Celeste Amarilla attacked France’s superstar Kylian Mbappé after the French team beat Paraguay 1-0.
France is facing Spain tonight in an intense battle to secure a place in the final.
Despite repeated hate comments, the France squad is now focusing on their next match against Spain with their eyes set on achieving the historic goal of reaching a third World Cup final in a row.
“Spain has a great team, but we will do our best,” defender Ibrahim Konaté said. “To be honest, we don’t listen to what’s being said.”
