Spain fans sing vile anti-Muslim chant vs Egypt after booing national anthem
The disgusting chants were sung during Tuesday's friendly.
Spanish fans have been blasted after vile anti-muslim chants were sung during their friendly against Egypt. The Euro 2024 champions were putting the final touches to their preparation for the tournament, with Luis de la Fuente’s side set to start the World Cup as favourites.
The match against fellow World Cup qualifiers Egypt finished in a goalless draw, but the main talking point from the night came in the stands. That’s because some Spanish fans inside the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona were heard chanting a derogatory song aimed towards Muslims.
Social media footage from the match showed sections of the supporters belting out “bote, bote, bote musulman el que no bote”, which translates to “jump, jump, jump, whoever doesn’t jump is a Muslim.” A message was sent out on the PA system asking fans not to use racist, homophobic or xenophobic chants, while a message on the big screen displayed: “We remind you the legislation to prevent violence in sport forbids and punishes the active participation in violent, xenophobic, homophobic or racist acts.”
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The announcement was met with fierce whistles, with the fans once again singing the chant shortly after the second half got underway. The decision to play the match in Barcelona - a heavily pro-Catalan and anti-Spanish region - was controversial enough, with the anti-independence fans in the crowd displaying a sea of Spanish flags during the national anthem. Meanwhile, loud jeers and boos were heard during the national anthem of Egypt, which is itself a majority-Muslim nation.
De la Fuente pulled no punches in his post-match interview, shaming the fans inside the stadium who were heard chanting the songs. He said: "I am repulsed by and absolutely reject any form of xenophobia or racism - it's completely intolerable.
"I don't know exactly what the protocol is, but I think it was the right decision to display the message on the scoreboard and make the announcement. Those [chanting] are a disgrace -- and the majority [inside the stadium] whistled them. There's nothing else to say.
"They are not representative of football. They take advantage of football, as they do in other areas of life. They need to be removed from society -- the further away, the better."
