Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa said on Friday that Spain is a tolerant country and not racist, despite Islamophobic chants during a national team match this week.
Sections of the crowd at Spain’s friendly against Egypt on Tuesday chanted «he who doesn’t jump is Muslim» during the match at Espanyol’s RCDE stadium in Cornella.
Spain and Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal, who is Muslim, criticized those chanting as “ignorant and racist”. Arbeloa defended Spain and insisted that racist attitudes must be eliminated.
«I don’t think Spain is a racist country. If it were, we would have a problem every weekend in all the stadiums,» Arbeloa told reporters.
«I keep thinking that we must eradicate any racist attitudes in stadiums and in society. Spain as a country must continue to fight to get rid of these attitudes. However, I think we are a great country, very tolerant, and with situations like this we should not generalize,» he added.
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Real Madrid striker Vinicius Junior has been racially abused in several stadiums across the country in high-profile incidents in recent years.
In January 2023, Atletico Madrid fans hung an effigy of Vinicius from a bridge near Real Madrid’s training ground.
Four months later, Vinicius clashed with fans who abused him at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium, in an incident that won him global support in his fight against racism.
In 2025, five Real Valladolid fans who racially abused Vinicius in a 2022 match were found guilty by a court of committing a hate crime – the first such ruling in Spain involving insults in a football stadium.
Real Madrid will visit Mallorca on Saturday in an attempt to close the gap on leaders Barça at the top of La Liga.
French superstar Kylian Mbappe is fit after suffering from a knee sprain for several months, which Arbeloa says is now behind him.
Spanish media reported that Madrid had scanned Mbappe’s wrong knee when trying to diagnose the problem, which the club’s top scorer said was untrue.
«As Kylian said, that information is incorrect. Let’s put Mbappe’s knee behind us and enjoy his goals,» Arbeloa added.
Published on April 3, 2026
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