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Spanish Football Federation condemns racist chants

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CitrixNews Staff
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Spanish Football Federation condemns racist chants
The corner flag at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona ahead of Spain's game against EgyptImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption,

Spain will face Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay in the group stages of the World Cup

ByElizabeth HudsonBBC Sport Journalist
  • Published12 minutes ago

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has condemned anti-Muslim chants which were heard during the first half of Spain's 0-0 draw with Egypt in Barcelona on Tuesday.

At half-time, a message warning fans against xenophobic remarks and singing was displayed on the screen at the RCDE Stadium with the stadium announcer also reading out a similar request.

The message was then repeated early in the second half, leading to whistles from some sections of the crowd.

"The RFEF stands against racism in football and condemns any act of violence inside stadiums," they posted on social media.

The behaviour was also condemned by Spain coach Luis de la Fuente.

"It's intolerable," he said. "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."

Tuesday's game was due to be played in Qatar but was moved to the home of La Liga side Espanyol due to the war in the Middle East.

De la Fuente made 10 changes from Friday's 3-0 friendly win over Serbia with Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal the only player to keep his place while Egypt were without injured Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah.

The result also saw Spain, one of the co-hosts of the next World Cup in 2030, lose their top place in the world rankings.

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Originally reported by BBC Sport