La Liga will report racist abuse against Barcelona players during El Clasico on Saturday to the relevant authorities. The Spanish top flight released a statement on Sunday addressing the insults Barca individuals were subjected to during their football careers 4-0 away win at Real Madrid.
Video footage appeared to capture all the abuse against Lamine Yamal as he scored the third of the Catalan giants’ four goals at the Santiago Bernabeu. The UEFA Euro 2024 winner celebrated his goal as part of an emphatic victory, with Robert Lewandowski also scoring twice and Raphinha also scoring – all in the second half.
La Liga moved quickly to “strongly condemn” the actions and announced it will immediately report the racist behavior to police and prosecutors.
“Given the events that took place during the match between Real Madrid and Barcelona, where unacceptable racist behavior was observed, La Liga will immediately report the racist insults and gestures directed against the Barcelona players to the hate crime group of the National Police, and the inform the police.” coordinating the Hate Crimes Prosecutor with the Hate Crimes and Discrimination Unit in the Office of the Attorney General,” read La Liga’s statement.
“LaLiga strongly condemns the events that took place at the Santiago Bernabeu and remains steadfast in its commitment to eradicate any form of racist behavior and hatred inside and outside stadiums. There is no place for this scourge in sport.”
Real also reiterated La Liga’s position on the matter and condemned the abusive behavior displayed during the match which saw the Madrid side open an investigation.
“Real Madrid strongly condemns any behavior linked to racism, xenophobia or violence in football and sport, and deeply regrets the insults uttered last night by some fans in one of the corners of the stadium,” said the spokesperson. read an official club statement.
“Real Madrid has opened an investigation to locate and identify the perpetrators of these deplorable and despicable insults so that appropriate disciplinary and judicial action can be taken.”
This is the latest in a long line of high-profile examples of racist abuse with Real’s Vinicius Junior being targeted in recent years.
Barcelona now lead La Liga by six points ahead of Los Blancos, who missed the chance to draw level with their bitter rivals.