Barcelona & PSG boycott TV network over racist Lamine Yamal remark

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Photo: @FCBarcelona

Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain players have boycotted their post-match media duties with a Spanish broadcaster in light of a racist remark regarding Lamine Yamal made by one of the on-air pundits.

The 16-year-old has been a revelation for the Blaugrana in the current season as he has already appeared in 40 matches for the club across all competitions, scoring six goals and providing seven assists.

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On Wednesday, Yamal was warming up before a Champions League match against PSG when Germán Burgos, who was working as a pundit for Spanish television channel Movistar Plus, said:

If he doesn't do well, he could end up at a traffic light.

Germán Burgos en Vomistar en el pre-partido: 'Si (Lamine) no triunfa, siempre puede hacer malabares en un semáforo'.
Por ello, Barça y PSG no han dado declaraciones a Movistar+, pero Susana Guasch ha mantenido en el plató al racista-clasista de 💩.
Lo están borrando. Que rule❤️🔃 pic.twitter.com/bybCQb0mjo

— La tarambana republicana (@la_tarambana) April 10, 2024

The comment was deemed racist and classist given its insinuation that Yamal, the son of immigrants of Moroccan and Equatoguinean descent, would perhaps be selling items at traffic lights or begging while doing tricks there had his career not panned out.

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Players and officials from PSG and Barca were made aware of the comment before the match, and made it known to Movistar that they didn't wish to speak to them after full-time.

Movistar reporter Ricardo Sierra explained on air:

I understand many of you want to hear from Barça players and coaches, but UEFA, PSG and Barça have informed us they will not speak to us because they are angry with a comment made in the studio before the game.

Therefore, they are not going to do any interviews with us, we have not been lucky. I apologise from here. We have to do it from the set as well.

Burgos, Diego Simeone's former assistant manager at Atlético Madrid, later apologised for his comments.

It was a comment made without meaning to hurt anyone. We talk about football, nothing else. If he felt offended, I am sorry and I apologise publicly.

It was not the intention. Sometimes humour gets you into trouble. In these times you have to adapt to everything and that's what we are doing.

The boycott comes on the back of repeated incidents of racism across Spanish football in recent months.

Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior has repeatedly been targeted by racist chants, whilst a third-division game was abandoned last week after insults were aimed at Rayo Majadahonda goalkeeper Cheikh Sarr.

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