Barcelona and Spain sensation Lamine Yamal has denounced the alleged Islamophobic chanting that marred his country's goalless friendly against Egypt on Tuesday evening as "utterly unacceptable".
The 17-year-old forward, a practising Muslim, took to Instagram on Wednesday to address the offensive behaviour witnessed at the RCDE Stadium.
"I am Muslim, alhamdulillah," Yamal declared. "I know the chants were against the opposition and nothing personal, but as a Muslim it is still disrespectful and completely intolerable."
He continued: "Using a religion as a way of mocking others inside a stadium is ignorant and racist. Football is to be enjoyed, not to disrespect others for who they are or what they believe in."
Lamine Yamal hit out at Spanish fans making offensive chants
|REUTERS
The discriminatory chanting began within minutes of kick-off, with sections of the crowd repeatedly singing "whoever doesn't jump is a Muslim" throughout the first half and again after the interval.
Egypt's national anthem had already been greeted with jeers before the match commenced.
Stadium authorities attempted to intervene, displaying warnings on the large screens at half-time and once more early in the second period.
These appeals fell on deaf ears, however, with portions of the crowd responding to both messages with further whistling.
Yamal, withdrawn at the break, departed the ground visibly affected, head bowed, declining to acknowledge supporters — the sole Spanish player to forgo the customary post-match appreciation.
Catalan authorities have opened an investigation into anti-Muslim chanting that marred Spain's pre-World Cup friendly against Egypt on Tuesday evening | GETTYSpain's head coach Luis de la Fuente expressed his revulsion in unequivocal terms following the match.
"Total and absolute disgust at any racist or xenophobic act," he stated. "These violent individuals, who exploit football, must be removed from society."
The Royal Spanish Football Federation swiftly aligned itself with the condemnation, reaffirming its opposition to all manifestations of racism and violence within football grounds.
Espanyol, the club whose stadium hosted the international fixture, likewise issued a robust denunciation of the behaviour witnessed during the friendly.
The unified response from Spanish football's authorities underscored the gravity with which the incident is being treated.
Spanish police in Barcelona have launched an investigation into what they characterised as "Islamophobic and xenophobic" chanting during the fixture.
The match had originally been scheduled to take place in Qatar but was relocated owing to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
On the pitch, manager De la Fuente made ten alterations to his starting eleven following Friday's 3-0 victory over Serbia, with Yamal the only player retained from that triumph.
Egypt were forced to compete without their talismanic forward Mohamed Salah, who continues to recover from a foot injury sustained earlier in the campaign.