#racism #xenophobia #football #futbol | Kat O'Brien

Tuesday night was meant to be a grand celebration of Spanish fútbol, a chance for home fans to get to see the Selección play in a friendly ahead of the World Cup, in which Spain is an early favorite. I was particularly excited to attend for Gata Sports Tours, as the Spanish men’s national team is my favorite team in any sport, and Lamine Yamal is my favorite active player to watch. Unfortunately, as we all heard, the match was heavily marred by some fans who chanted Islamophobic, racist things during the match and booed during Egypt’s national anthem. Football is a reflection of society, and it feels as if the past few years, society has gone backwards on many fronts, with a rise in racist, Islamophobic, antisemitic, misogynistic, homophobic and xenophobic words and actions. On Tuesday, it was at the Spain-Egypt friendly in Cornellà de Llobregat outside Barcelona. But it happens every day, everywhere. We can all do more to speak up and oppose such ignorance, intolerance and hate. On this night, the racism and ignorance of some fans hurt Spain more than anybody - Yamal is a star among stars and from Barcelona, and his jersey was surely the most-worn at RCDE Stadium Tuesday; he left the game at halftime and posted online yesterday about the negative impact. Let’s work to change society for the better if we want sports to be better. https://lnkd.in/eGdKAuGK https://lnkd.in/eeC7z6BE https://lnkd.in/epWwfV2T #racism #xenophobia #football #futbol