Real Madrid have launched an investigation into racist insults allegedly directed at players during Saturday’s 4-0 home loss to Barcelona in La Liga, they said on Sunday.
Spanish media reported that the 17-year-old Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal, who is of Equatorial Guinean and Moroccan heritage, was targeted with xenophobic and racist abuse at the Bernabéu. Barcelona did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
“Real Madrid strongly condemns any kind of behaviour involving racism, xenophobia or violence in football and sport, and deeply regrets the insults that a few fans uttered last night in one of the corners of the stadium,” the club said in a statement.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and La Liga have taken steps to tackle an increase in racist abuse with measures including partial stadium closures.
Four people were arrested and questioned in Spain on Thursday on suspicion of conducting an online hate campaign encouraging fans to racially abuse Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Vinícius Júnior in the buildup to their match against Atlético Madrid last month.
In June, the magistrate’s court of Valencia issued the first conviction for racist insults in a football stadium in Spain.
In England, Bristol Rovers said they were “infuriated” by racist abuse directed at forward Shaq Forde following Saturday’s League One match against Reading. Forde was targeted on Instagram after being sent off in the second half of his team’s 1-0 defeat at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
According to Rovers, the message, which was highlighted by 20-year-old Forde and some of his teammates, contained “abusive and racist language”. The club, who intend to assist a police investigation into the matter, said they are “sick and tired of racist behaviour blighting sport”.
“Shaq is not the only Bristol Rovers player to receive racial abuse, with an incident under investigation only last week,” read a statement on the club website. “Even more sickening is that some of these messages come from individuals claiming to be Bristol Rovers supporters. Each time, the club has sought to act in the appropriate manner.”
