I have experienced racism ‘a thousand times,’ says Yamal

Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal has revealed that he has experienced racism “a thousand times”, saying many people make offensive comments or behave in racist ways without realising it.

As reported by BBC Sport on Friday, the 19-year-old made the remarks in an interview with former Argentina international Jorge Valdano for Spanish broadcaster Movistar.

“A thousand times,” Yamal said when asked whether he had experienced racism directly.

“People are indirectly racist towards you, but maybe don’t realise it. There are a lot of comments or looks that are racist and they don’t even notice.”

Yamal has been subjected to racist abuse during his rapid rise to prominence with Barcelona and Spain. In October 2024, footage appeared to show him, Raphinha and Ansu Fati being racially abused during Barcelona’s El Clásico against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Reflecting on such incidents, Yamal said he distinguishes between references to his race and language intended to offend him.

“If someone calls me Black, it’s not going to bother me at all, ultimately I’m Black, I’m not any other colour,” he said. “Another thing is whether it’s good or bad, whether they’re saying it to offend me.”

Yamal also explained that he does not allow abuse from supporters to distract him while playing.

“But if I’m playing a match and they paid for a ticket to see me, I’m not going to get angry just because they disrespected me,” he said.

The Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia reported that Yamal and Real Madrid forward Vinícius Jr were among the most frequent targets of online racist abuse in Spain during the final quarter of 2025.

More recently, the Spanish government agency said racist and Islamophobic content targeting Yamal was also detected during the 2026 World Cup period.