Barcelona teenage sensation Lamine Yamal was targeted with vicious chants from a section of the crowd during his side’s La Liga clash at the Metropolitano Stadium on Saturday, with witnesses reporting a barrage of personal and xenophobic insults.
The 16-year-old forward, who has become a key figure for both club and country, was allegedly singled out by a group of home supporters behind one of the goals. According to multiple social media videos circulating after the match, the abuse turned particularly ugly when chants of “You’re very ugly. Go back to Morocco, go back,” were directed at the player.
The incident took place during the second half of the heated derby, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Yamal, who was born in Spain to a Moroccan father and Equatorial Guinean mother, appeared to momentarily acknowledge the taunts but continued playing without engaging with the perpetrators.
Anti-racism monitoring groups have condemned the incident as both xenophobic and racist, noting that the attack targets not only Yamal’s appearance but also his family heritage.
“Lamine Yamal is a Spanish international and one of the most exciting young players in Europe. To tell him to ‘go back to Morocco’ is not only hateful – it is factually ignorant and rooted in racial prejudice,” a spokesperson for the Observatorio contra el Racismo told this publication.
Neither club has released an official statement on the matter at the time of publication, but La Liga has confirmed that its security and integrity coordinators are reviewing stadium audio and fan footage. The league has a formal protocol for reporting hate speech and has filed multiple complaints with the Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee this season.
Barcelona manager Xavi Hernández was asked about the atmosphere after the match but said he had not directly heard the chants. However, he added: “If true, it is shameful. There is no place for that in football. Lamine is just a kid who loves the game.”
The Metropolitano Stadium has been at the center of similar controversies in recent years, including prior cases of racist abuse directed at Vinícius Júnior and other Black players. Atlético Madrid’s own fan monitoring unit has previously pledged to identify and ban offenders.
La Liga has not yet indicated whether the match delegate’s report will include the incident, but under current regulations, repeated xenophobic chanting can lead to partial stadium closures or fines for the host club.
Yamal, who celebrated his 17th birthday in July, played the full 90 minutes. After the final whistle, he posted a photo on social media from the locker room with the caption: “Focused on what matters. Always forward.
