Former Spanish leader is criticized for comments about France’s World Cup team
French and Spanish leaders condemned the remarks as racist, while the French Football Federation said its players needed no certificate of nationality.
- On Sunday, Spain's conservative ex-prime minister Mariano Rajoy faced backlash after stating in an opinion piece that the French national football team had "no French players," ahead of Tuesday's World Cup semi-final.
- The comment appeared in an opinion piece on the Spanish site Debate as Spain prepares to play France, while official data confirms that of 26 players on the French squad, 23 were born in France, with three born abroad.
- Denouncing the comments as "absolutely unacceptable," Interior Minister Laurent Nunez responded, while Minister against discrimination Aurore Berge called them "repeated racist outbursts." French Football Federation president Philippe Diallo cited an "intolerable undertone of racism."
- Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned the remark as "xenophobic," writing that Spain belongs to those who contribute to it, while Transport Minister Oscar Puente dismissed Rajoy as a "post-Franco idiot."
- Communist party leader Fabien Roussel compared the incident to remarks by Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla, who previously described star player Kylian Mbappé as a "colonised Cameroonian," highlighting a pattern of such rhetoric in sports.
122 Articles
122 Articles
Ex-Spanish leader criticized for remarks about French World Cup team
MADRID — A former Spanish prime minister is facing criticism for saying that France's World Cup team “does not have any French players," which French and Spanish leaders have called racist. Mariano Rajoy, a member of Spain’s conservative Popular Party, made the comment in a column for Spanish outlet El Debate ahead of Tuesday’s World Cup semifinal match between the European neighbors. “They’ve won every match they’ve played at this World Cup and…
Ex-Prime Minister’s Line Detonates World Cup
Mariano Rajoy set off a political storm by saying France’s World Cup team had “no Frenchmen.” Quick Take Rajoy made the remark in a World Cup column for El Debate ahead of the Spain-France semifinal. He praised France as a strong team, then said it played “without Frenchmen.” French and Spanish leaders quickly condemned the...
Not for the first time, the French national team has had to endure a racist remark: former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy called it a team "without French people." In this way, football reflects the tendency among radical right-wing politicians to question the citizenship of people with a migration background.
Spain's former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy outraged in front of the giant duel in the semi-finals of France and also his own country. On the playing field there should be the sporting answer.
Former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is facing criticism after saying that France "doesn't have a single French player" at the soccer World Cup, which local and Spanish officials have deemed a racist statement.
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