Barcelona Star Lamine Yamal Opens Up About Facing Racism 'A Thousand Times'

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal was named La Liga player of the year last season, according to Bruna Casas/Reuters. The Barcelona forward recently revealed that he has experienced racism "a thousand times," noting that many individuals remain unaware when their remarks or actions cross the line into racial abuse. The 19-year-old has frequently been targeted during his meteoric rise in professional football.

Back in October 2024, video footage emerged showing Lamine, Raphinha, and Ansu Fati enduring racial abuse during a high-stakes match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. Furthermore, a bulletin released by the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia in March highlighted that both Lamine and Vinicius Jr were the primary targets of online racial abuse across Spain throughout the final quarter of 2025.

During an interview with former Argentina international Jorge Valdano on Spanish broadcaster Movistar, Lamine was directly asked about his personal encounters with racism. He responded, "A thousand times. People are indirectly racist toward you, but maybe don't realise it. There are a lot of comments or looks that are racist, and they don't even notice."

He added, "If someone calls me Black, it's not going to bother me at all, ultimately I'm Black, I'm not any other colour. Another thing is whether it's good or bad, whether they're saying it to offend me. But if I'm playing a match and they paid for a ticket to see me, I'm not going to get angry just because they disrespected me." In response to these persistent issues, La Liga has intensified its initiatives to eradicate racist abuse within stadiums following a series of alarming incidents in Spanish football over recent years.