Barcelona fans RACIALLY ABUSE 16-year-old Lamine Yamal for missed chances against Athletic Bilbao 

Lamine Yamal has been one of Barcelona's most exciting prodigies, being the youngest La Liga player of all time.

Barcelona fans RACIALLY ABUSE 16-year-old Lamine Yamal for missed chances against Athletic Bilbao 

Lamine Yamal was racially abused by Barcelona fans. (Image via Goal)

On January 24th, Athletic Bilbao knocked Barcelona out of the Copa del Rey, with the game going into extra-time. Gorka Guruzela scored Bilbao’s first goal, but Robert Lewandowski equalized just 25 minutes later. La Masia graduate and Barcelona wonderkid, Lamine Yamal, scored a screamer to get Barcelona the lead, but it wasn’t enough as Othan Sancet scored in the 2nd half to equalize it. 

In the 86th minute, Yamal had the opportunity to give Barcelona the win. Aitor Paredes’s poor control of the ball meant the 16-year-old could get the ball off of him. He went 1v1 against keeper Julen Agirrezabala and ran around him. With only an empty net in front of him, all he needed to do was slot it in. Unfortunately, the pressure got to him and he missed his shot entirely. 

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The game went to extra time, with the Williams brothers then scoring to get Bilbao to the next round. Yamal’s miss was costly and he publicly apologized to fans after the match. He took responsibility for his mistakes and promised to work harder. 

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Despite being a 16-year-old who had become the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Copa del Rey, many fans went online to racially abuse him. Rival fans didn’t hold back in mocking Yamal as well. 

La Liga and their racism problem 

Racism has been a prevalent issue in the past few years in Spain. Players like Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, Inaki Williams, Mouctar Diakhaby and so many more in the past 30+ years have been victims of racist abuse. Towards the end of 2022, Vinicius had become one of the biggest targets of racism, with ultras of other clubs constantly attacking him. 

Vinicius Jr
Vinicius Jr has been a usual target of racist abuse. (Image via Goal)

Atletico Madrid fans hung an effigy of him on a bridge, while banners calling Vinicius a monkey were sold. Along with that, his social media was filled with hate comments, targeting his skin. Javier Tebas, the La Liga President, attacked the winger instead of showing support for Vinicius as well. 

The winger has claimed that racism is prevalent in the top flight of the Spanish federation, but La Liga has not done much to tackle it. The racism problem in Spain has been a blight in one of the most entertaining leagues in the world. 

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