Spanish FA condemns anti-Muslim chants that marred Egypt friendly

Barcelona – Spain’s final home friendly before this summer’s World Cup was supposed to be a routine tune-up; instead, it ended with the Spanish Football Federation issuing an unequivocal apology after anti-Muslim chants and booing during Egypt’s national anthem turned Tuesday night’s 0-0 draw at RCDE Stadium into the latest flashpoint over fan behaviour in Spanish football.

Stadium announcers twice warned spectators to stop offensive remarks, but the jeers were loud enough to be heard over the public-address system and continued sporadically throughout the match. The incidents come barely a year after a spate of racist abuse directed at Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior, and federation president Rafael Louzan moved quickly to distance the institution from the scenes.

“What we’ve done is condemn these kinds of attitudes and to say they must not be repeated,” Louzan said in a post-match statement.

Head coach Luis de la Fuente was even more blunt. “It’s intolerable,” he told reporters as he entered the press room. “Violent people use football to carve out a space for themselves. They must be removed from society, identified, and kept as far away as possible.”

The fixture itself had been relocated from Qatar to Catalonia because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, but the change of venue did little to ease tensions. A crowd of 35,000 watched a disjointed Spanish side make 10 changes from Friday’s 3-0 win over Serbia, with 16-year-old Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal the only survivor in the starting XI.

Spain dominated possession early on, Ferran Torres drawing a sharp save after 20 minutes, yet it was Egypt who came closest to breaking the deadlock when Omar Marmoush, the Manchester City attacker, cracked a low shot against the post against the run of play. Mohamed Salah, Egypt’s star forward, remained on the sidelines with the muscle injury suffered against Galatasaray on 18 March; Liverpool still hope he can feature in this weekend’s FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester City.

Pedri saw a curling effort palmed away on 57 minutes and Cristhian Mosquera glanced a header just wide as Spain pushed for a winner. The task became easier when Egyptian defensive midfielder Hamdy Fathy collected a second yellow card with six minutes remaining, but Alejandro Grimaldo could only rattle the crossbar from close range in the 88th minute, ensuring the contest finished goalless.

De la Fuente’s side will now travel to North America where they have been drawn in Group H alongside Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay. Reports suggest Spain will meet Iraq on 4 June in the United States before closing their preparations against Peru in Mexico four days later.

For the federation, however, the immediate priority is to ensure the ugly scenes in Barcelona are not repeated. “We have to be relentless in identifying and punishing this behaviour,” Louzan added. “Football must be a place of respect.”

Spanish football, once again, finds itself answering questions that have nothing to do with tactics or scorelines, and everything to do with the culture inside its stadiums.