NEWNow you can listen to Pak Gazette articles!
After some fans allegedly led anti-Muslim chants during last Tuesday’s international soccer friendly between the Spanish team and Egypt, FIFA confirmed it had opened a disciplinary procedure.
In a statement, the sport’s governing body said action was taken against the Spanish federation following the incident.
“FIFA has today initiated a disciplinary file against the Spanish Football Federation for the incidents that occurred during the friendly match against Egypt.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PakGazette.Com
Spain’s players line up before the international friendly soccer match between Spain and Egypt at the RCDE stadium in Cornellà de Llobregat, near Barcelona, on March 31, 2026. (Lluís Gené/AFP)
The RCDE Stadium in Catalonia, Spain, hosted the March 31 match, with Spain as the home team. Fans were possibly heard in sections of the 40,000-seat stadium, a possible future World Cup site, chanting “bote,bot,botot musulman el que no boto,” which translates to “jump, jump, jump, whoever doesn’t jump is a Muslim.” The chant resurfaced several times during the game.
The stadium announcer warned fans about the venue’s policy against discriminatory behavior following reports of anti-Muslim chants.
Spain’s players walk on the field before the international friendly soccer match against Egypt at the RCDE stadium in Cornellà de Llobregat, near Barcelona, on March 31, 2026. (Lluís Gené/AFP)
Egypt is overwhelming a Muslim nation. According to the World Religion Database, approximately 90% of the country’s population identifies as Muslim.
USA’S WORLD CUP HOPES TURN HIT AFTER STAR PLAYER BROKES ACHILLES
Spanish star Lamine Yamal condemned the chants a day later, calling those responsible “ignorant and racist.”
“I’m a Muslim, thank God,” the 18-year-old wrote in a post on Instagram on Wednesday. “I understand that not all fans are like that, but those who sing those songs: using religion as something to mock people in a football stadium leaves you as ignorant and racist people.”
FILE – Spain’s Lamine Yamal, center, warms up for the Nations League semi-final soccer match between Spain and France in Stuttgart, Germany, June 5, 2025. (Matías Schrader/AP)
“Football is to enjoy and support, not to offend people for who they are or what they believe,” Yamal’s post concludes.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pak Gazette APP
Criticism was immediate: the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) denounced the behavior before the end of the match and Joan García and Pedri echoed that position after the match.
“The RFEF opposes racism in football and condemns any act of violence within stadiums,” wrote the governing body of this sport in Spain in a statement published on social networks last Tuesday.
The response extended beyond the field, with Spain’s Minister of Education, Vocational Training and Sports and the Council on American-Islamic Relations also condemning the chants.
Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente also condemned the message. “I absolutely reject and reject any form of xenophobia or racism; it is completely intolerable,” he said at a news conference.
