The Government and the Popular Party have shown their rejection of the Islamophobic and xenophobic chants that were heard this Tuesday in the stands during the friendly match played by Spain and Egypt at the RCDE Stadium in Cornellà-El Prat (Barcelona).
From an area at the back of Cornellà where the group known as 'The Curve' of RCD Espanyol is usually located, the chant "Muslim whoever doesn't jump" was repeated from the 20th minute, an offensive attitude that marred the festive atmosphere that predominated in the stadium.
Likewise, in the moments prior to the start of the match, a part of the public booed the anthem of Egypt and shouts were also heard against the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, coming from a small sector of fans.
The Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports has branded these behaviors as "absolutely unacceptable" and has stressed that "they do not represent, in any case, the immense majority of Spanish fans", who conceive and enjoy sport as a space of respect and coexistence.
The department has also reiterated its "firm and unequivocal" commitment in the fight against any manifestation of violence in sport and has assured that it will continue promoting, together with sports institutions and entities, all necessary measures to eradicate these behaviors.
Through her social media, the Minister of Education, Vocational Training and Sports, Milagros Tolón, has defended that sport is "effort, work and talent, but also respect, solidarity and coexistence". "Hate, racism and xenophobia have no place in stadiums or in our society," she stated.
The Ministry he/she leads has insisted that zero tolerance towards these attitudes is "an institutional requirement and an inalienable democratic principle" and has emphasized that sport must always be a space for encounter and integration.
Condemnation of the Government and criticism of those who remain silent
The Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, has stated that the Executive, with Pedro Sánchez at the helm, defends "peace, integration and coexistence", three values that he considers "a source of national pride".
In this context, he has condemned the xenophobic insults at the RCDE Stadium during the friendly match between the Spanish national team and Egypt. "It does not represent us. They are ultra groups cheered on by ultra politics. And they shame us", Torres stressed in a message on 'X'.
The head of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory has stressed that "hatred and racism have no place in sport nor in our lives" and has also pointed to those who choose not to speak out: "He who remains silent is an accomplice".
In similar terms, the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, has expressed himself, who has blamed the "racist and xenophobic right" for having fueled "for years" the insults recorded this Tuesday in Cornellà, "with the complicity of a media ecosystem that today throws its hands up in horror". "It's fascism, friends. And you don't laugh at its jokes, nor do you whitewash it", he has written on social media.
For the Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes, Félix Bolaños, the racist shouts and chants "shame us as a society", while he has lashed out against those who "remain silent" in the face of these episodes, whom he also considers "accomplices" of a far-right that "is not going to leave a space free of its hatred". "We continue working for a tolerant and respectful country with everyone," he defended on 'X'.
Reaction of the PP and of Podemos
The PP spokesperson in Congress, Ester Muñoz, has likewise rejected the xenophobic chants heard during the match. "Deplorable and condemnable," she wrote in a message on 'X'.
For her part, the political secretary and MEP for Podemos, Irene Montero, has pointed out on the social network 'X' that hearing "Muslim whoever doesn't jump" chanted in a stadium is something that "is shameful".
He added, however, that if hundreds of people "chant it proudly it's because they have seen on TV and in politics many 'respectable' people telling them that this hatred is 'common sense'". "Let's stop it before Islamophobia goes further," he asked.
Vox minimizes the chants
Instead, Vox's secretary general, Ignacio Garriga, has downplayed the xenophobic chants, diverting attention to other "atrocities" such as, in his opinion, "rapes have skyrocketed", that "the majority of prisoners are of foreign nationality" or that "Spain has consolidated itself as the country with the most arrests of jihadists in Europe".
"It is outrageous that more stadiums are ceded for Ramadan than for the Spanish national football team to play in Catalonia. It is outrageous that Spaniards feel like foreigners in their own neighborhood," Garriga has criticized.