Ex-Spanish Prime Minister's allegedly racist comments about France slammed by La Roja star
· Yahoo Sports
Spain defender Pau Cubarsi fired back at former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy after his assertion that France does not "have any French players."
Spain and France are set to battle it out in the opening FIFA World Cup semifinal this week, pitting arguably the two best men's national teams against one other for a final spot. La Roja secured their place in the last four as Mikel Merino continued his late-game heroics to seal a 2-1 victory over Belgium, while France dispatched Morocco to advance.
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The showdown in Dallas will pit the tournament's most explosive attack, France, against Spain's resolute defensive unit. However, the match has been somewhat overshadowed by Rajoy's remarks, published in a column for Spanish newspaper El Debate ahead of the semifinal, as per The Mirror US.
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The comments by Rajoy, who served as Spanish Prime Minister between 2011 and 2018, were widely condemned as racist attacks on France's players. He wrote: "They are currently ranked number one in the FIFA rankings. They also have a top-level squad. That said, they don't have any French players, and they are playing very well."
When pressed on the column by Catalan radio station RAC1, Cubarsi pushed back firmly on Rajoy's remarks. The Barcelona defender stated: "If they play for the French national team, then at the end of the day, they are French, regardless of the color of their skin, because ultimately we have to be tolerant with everyone.
"The color of their skin doesn't matter because we are all people and we all deserve respect."
The remarks triggered intense condemnation from government officials throughout France and Spain. The French embassy in Spain issued a firm rebuttal on social media: "All the players on the French national team are French. Of the 26 players, 23 were born in France. The 3 who were born abroad are French as well."
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party described the comments as "racist and xenophobic," while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X: "Spain belongs to those who love it and work for it. Not to those who shame it with xenophobic statements."
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This controversy represents the latest incident threatening to eclipse France's remarkable World Cup push.
After Didier Deschamps' squad's victory over Paraguay in the Round of 16, Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla published a string of allegedly racist comments targeting French superstar forward Kylian Mbappé.
The 61-year-old unleashed a barrage of allegedly racist insults toward Mbappé, including branding him a "Colonized Cameroonian, pretending hard to be French, resentful, newly rich, arrogant, and ugly." The Real Madrid star refused to remain silent, hitting back as he branded Amarilla a "despicable woman, unworthy of her office."
In the wake of the incident, French President Emmanuel Macron praised Mbappé for "scoring another goal against racism." On the field, Mbappé and Lionel Messi are tied at the top of the Golden Boot standings with eight goals apiece heading into the semifinals.
France faces Spain in the World Cup semifinal in Dallas on Tuesday, July 14.