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Spain’s goalless friendly against Egypt on Tuesday drew condemnation after sections of the crowd at RCDE Stadium in Barcelona chanted an anti-Muslim slogan during the match, prompting warnings over the stadium loudspeaker and on the big screens.
While Egypt’s national anthem was booed before kickoff, some fans also chanted “whoever doesn’t jump is a Muslim” during the first half of the match and again after the break.
The Spanish Football Federation, known as the RFEF, said it condemned the chants and instructed stadium officials to broadcast messages against racist, xenophobic, and homophobic abuse.
One message shown inside the stadium said Spanish legislation forbids and punishes violent, xenophobic, homophobic, or racist acts at sporting events.
Spain midfielder Pedri said the players were shocked by what they heard.
“We, as players, have been shocked by the chants too,” he said after the match. “We don’t agree to any sort of racist chant. We did not expect it. We all have to work together to stop this from happening in stadiums.”
Goalkeeper Joan Garcia also rejected the abuse, saying the team was “absolutely against” discriminatory messages.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente called the chants “not tolerable” and gave what he described as an “absolute and total rejection against xenophobic and racist attitudes.”
He said football should not give space to violent people and called for those responsible to be identified and removed.
RFEF president Rafael Louzan also condemned the chanting and said he apologized to the president of the Egyptian Football Federation, who attended the game.
“There was an extraordinary atmosphere of cordiality with the Egyptian delegation,” Louzan said. “I also apologized.”
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said after the match that he had not heard the chants and had focused on the game.
The incident has renewed attention on racism and discrimination in Spanish football at a sensitive time, as Spain is set to co-host the 2030 World Cup with Portugal and Morocco.
One report said the referee did not activate the anti-racism protocol during the match because the chanting was apparently not brought to his attention.
Play continued while the abuse was heard from parts of the stadium.
Reports from Catalan outlet Ara said other chants were also heard during the match, including “Gibraltar is Spanish,” “Puigdemont to prison,” and insults aimed at Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and La Liga president Javier Tebas.
The Gibraltar chant has already caused disciplinary problems for Spain before. In 2024, Spanish players Rodri and Alvaro Morata received one-match bans from UEFA after performing it during the team’s European Championship celebrations.
Tuesday’s match ended 0-0, but the football itself quickly became secondary as the chants drew the strongest reaction from players, officials, and sections of the crowd.
While some supporters joined in, other fans reportedly booed those responsible.
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