Former Spanish conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is facing mounting accusations of racism after writing in a World Cup newspaper column that the French national team “does not have any French players”. Rajoy, who served as prime minister from 2011 to 2018, made the remarks in an article for the online newspaper El Debate on Friday, ahead of Spain’s semi-final clash with France.
Rajoy's Column Sparks Outrage
In his column, Rajoy acknowledged France’s footballing pedigree, noting they are “a two-time world champion, a finalist in the last World Cup, and have won every match in this tournament”. He also described them as “ranked No 1 in the Fifa rankings” with “a top-level squad”. However, he added: “That said, they don’t have any French players. And they’re playing very well. They’ll be a formidable opponent.”
The comments drew immediate comparisons to a recent racist social media attack on Kylian Mbappé by Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla, who called the French star a “colonised Cameroonian, desperately trying to pass himself off as French”. French prosecutors have since investigated that incident.
Spanish PM Sánchez Condemns Remarks
Spain’s current Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, issued a scathing rebuke on X. “There are those who still measure belonging by surname, place of birth, or skin colour,” he wrote. “Others measure it by our roots in a country and our will to contribute to it. Playing football. Caring for our elders. Or opening businesses. Spain belongs to those who love it and work for it. Not to those who shame it with xenophobic statements.”
Sánchez ended his post with a wish: “France, we’ll see you in the semi-finals. May the best team win and may racism lose.”
French Leaders React
In France, the response was equally fierce. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told BFMTV on Sunday: “That’s completely unacceptable. That’s completely not what France is about. France is a country of diversity where everyone can thrive and find their place.”
Olivier Faure, leader of the French Socialist party, emphasised that the French national team is composed solely of French citizens. “France is not an ethnic nation; it has no skin colour or religion,” he posted on X. “It is a political nation united around the republican motto – much to the chagrin of the racist right.”
Fabien Roussel, leader of the French Communist party, condemned Rajoy and linked his words to Amarilla’s tirade. “They cannot help but spew filthy racism in an attempt to annoy our beautiful French team,” Roussel said.
Call for Legal Action
Naïma Moutchou, France’s minister for overseas territories, saw a familiar pattern. “The same racist obsessions and insults resurface every time [France] wins,” she said. “These aren’t just ‘slips of the tongue’. It’s a methodical and normalised hatred of France and what it represents.” Moutchou called on the French football federation, which has already filed a complaint with Paris prosecutors over Amarilla’s remarks, to “pursue all legal avenues”.
