Fans accused of racism during ‘Clasico’ face stadium ban

Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal gestures during a Spanish La Liga football match against Las Palmas at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

MADRID — Four fans accused of racially insulting forward Lamine Yamal and other Barcelona players during last month’s league “Clasico” at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium are set to be banned from Spanish stadiums for a year.

The Spanish football federation’s anti-violence committee on Monday proposed handing the bans — and fines of up to 5,000 euros ($5,200) each — to four fans accused of insulting the players during Barcelona’s 4-0 victory over Madrid in the Spanish league match on Oct. 26.

The commission in charge of fighting against violence, racism and other hate crimes in sport also proposed a one-year ban and a fine for a fan accused of attacking two visiting fans outside the stadium after the game.

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Spanish police had detained the fans saying there was enough evidence showing that they used racist slurs to insult the players during Barcelona’s victory.

Videos on social media showed the alleged insults against Yamal after he scored Barcelona’s third goal in the second half. The 17-year-old celebrated in a corner in front of Madrid fans and made some gestures apparently provoking the fans.

A few fans could be heard yelling insults at Yamal and the other Barcelona players.

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Madrid had been quick to denounce the incident and helped find the perpetrators, as did the Spanish league.

Madrid has been denouncing racist insults against its forward Vinícius Júnior, who is also Black, for several years, including when he played a match at Barcelona’s Camp Nou Stadium. Spanish soccer has been struggling to stamp out racist slurs against players, especially Vinícius.