The series of racist chants in Spanish stadiums continues, this time at the Santiago Bernabéu, Real Madrid’s home ground, a club that has supposedly been at the forefront of the fight against racism in football for the past two years.
Spain witnessed a particularly egregious incident during the last international break when fans at Espanyol’s stadium directed racist chants against Muslims during La Roja’s friendly match against Egypt, which ended in a goalless draw.
During the Champions League match between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, cameras captured a number of Real Madrid fans chanting the same anti-Islamic song that was chanted at Espanyol’s stadium: “If you don’t jump, you’re a Muslim.”
This comes just hours after FIFA announced it had opened a disciplinary investigation against the Spanish Football Federation regarding the incident at the Egypt match, with expectations of a disciplinary sanction including a hefty fine and the possibility of a stadium ban or partial closure of the venue for Spain’s next domestic home game.
English referee Michael Oliver did not mention the incident in his report, so it is unlikely that UEFA will punish Real Madrid for what happened, unlike in the Egypt-Spain match.
In general, Spanish stadiums have been rife with racist chants in recent years, and Vinicius Junior has been particularly affected at famous venues like Valencia’s Mestalla.
Spain will generally be the most affected by these incidents, and ultimately, it may be stripped of its bid to host the 2030 World Cup final amidst fierce competition with Morocco to host the highly anticipated event.
