Former Spain PM criticised for ‘xenophobic’ remark on French World Cup team
•play Live Sign upShow navigation menuNavigation menuNewsShow more news sectionsAfricaAsiaUS & CanadaLatin AmericaEuropeAsia PacificWorld CupMiddle EastExplainedOpinionVideoMoreShow more sectionsFeatur...
•xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoSpain's former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was ousted after a motion of no confidence vote in 2018 [Philippe Marcou/Reuters]By AFPPublished O...
•The comment, published in an opinion piece in Spanish online news site El Debate on Sunday, came as Spain prepares to face France in a titanic World Cup semifinal on Tuesday.
هذا الخبر من Al Jazeera English. خبر يقدم أدوات ذكاء اصطناعي للتلخيص والترجمة والاستماع.
play Live Sign upShow navigation menuNavigation menuNewsShow more news sectionsAfricaAsiaUS & CanadaLatin AmericaEuropeAsia PacificWorld CupMiddle EastExplainedOpinionVideoMoreShow more sectionsFeaturesEconomySportHuman RightsClimate CrisisInvestigationsInteractivesIn PicturesScience & TechnologyPodcastsTravelSponsored Contentplay Live Click here to searchsearchSign upNavigation menucaret-leftWorld Cup 2026France vs Spain: PredictionSemifinals bracketResults and FixturesKnockout BracketGoals and reactioncaret-rightSport|World Cup 2026Former Spain PM criticised for ‘xenophobic’ remark on French World Cup teamMariano Rajoy has drawn criticism for an opinion piece in Spanish website El Debate ahead of World Cup semifinal. xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoSpain's former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was ousted after a motion of no confidence vote in 2018 [Philippe Marcou/Reuters]By AFPPublished On 12 Jul 202612 Jul 2026Spain’s conservative former prime minister Mariano Rajoy is facing criticism at home and in neighbouring France after saying their national football team had “no French players”. The comment, published in an opinion piece in Spanish online news site El Debate on Sunday, came as Spain prepares to face France in a titanic World Cup semifinal on Tuesday. Spain’s current Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, condemned the remark as “xenophobic”. “There are those who still measure belonging by surname, place of birth, or skin colour. Others measure it by our roots in a country and our will to contribute to it,” the Socialist leader wrote on X. “Spain belongs to those who love it and work for it. Not to those who shame it with xenophobic statements.” Transport Minister Oscar Puente dismissed Rajoy as a “post-Franco idiot”. French politicians have also lashed out at Rajoy’s comment. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told French channel BFMTV that it was “absolutely unacceptable”. Communist party leader Fabien Roussel compared Rajoy’s comment to widely criticised remarks by Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla. She said after Paraguay’s elimination by France in the Round of 16 that star player Kylian Mbappe was a “colonised Cameroonian who has really pretended to be French”. “They just can’t stop themselves from slinging this disgusting racism,” said Roussel. Anti-discrimination minister Aurore Berge also denounced the “repeated racist outbursts”. “It’s time they stopped and that sport becomes sport again: a place where you are judged on your talent and by no other criteria,” she said. Naima Moutchou, France’s minister for overseas territories, called the comments evidence of “systematic and widespread hatred of France and what the nation is”. “Every time Les Bleus win, the same racist obsessions and insults re-emerge,” she said. France “has no skin colour or religion”, said French Socialist party leader Olivier Faure on X. France’s embassy in Madrid also responded in a social media post. “All the players of the French team are French. Of 26 players, 23 were born in France. The three who were born abroad are also French.” Philippe Diallo, president of the French Football Federation, posted that Rajoy’s comments carried an “intolerable undertone of racism”.. Advertisement AboutAboutShow moreAbout UsCode of EthicsTerms and ConditionsEU/EEA Regulatory NoticePrivacy PolicyCookie PolicyCookie PreferencesAccessibility StatementSitemapWork for usConnectConnectShow moreContact UsUser Accounts HelpAdvertise with usStay ConnectedNewslettersChannel FinderTV SchedulePodcastsSubmit a TipPaid Partner ContentOur ChannelsOur ChannelsShow moreAl Jazeera ArabicAl Jazeera EnglishAl Jazeera Investigative UnitAl Jazeera MubasherAl Jazeera DocumentaryAl Jazeera BalkansAJ+Our NetworkOur NetworkShow moreAl Jazeera Centre for StudiesAl Jazeera Media InstituteLearn ArabicAl Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human RightsAl Jazeera ForumAl Jazeera Hotel PartnersFollow Al Jazeera English:المصدر: Al Jazeera English | Source: Al Jazeera English
ملاحظة تحريرية | Editorial Note: نُشر هذا المقال في الأصل بواسطة Al Jazeera English. خبر (Khabr) هي منصة إعلامية أردنية مرخّصة تعمل بالذكاء الاصطناعي. نضيف قيمة تحريرية من خلال: تحليل ذكي للأخبار، ملخصات تلقائية، رواية صوتية بالذكاء الاصطناعي، ترجمة متعددة اللغات، وتدقيق الحقائق. هدفنا جعل الأخبار أكثر وضوحاً وسهولةً للقارئ العربي.
This article was originally published by Al Jazeera English. Khabr is a licensed Jordanian AI-powered news platform (Registration #82086). We add editorial value through: AI-powered news analysis, automated summaries, AI audio narration, multi-language translation (Arabic, English, French, Turkish), and AI fact-checking. Our mission is to make news more accessible and understandable for Arabic-speaking audiences worldwide.





