By Adegboyega Adeleye
Spain has apologised to France after former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy sparked a racism row by questioning the “Frenchness” of France’s national football team ahead of Tuesday’s FIFA World Cup semi-final.
According to Reuters, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told his French counterpart that Rajoy’s comments were “intolerable” and did not represent the views of the overwhelming majority of Spaniards.
“It’s a very serious matter to go around using skin colour to determine who can be a citizen and who cannot,” Albares said, describing the remarks as carrying “the poison of racism and xenophobia.”
The diplomatic row erupted after Rajoy wrote in Spanish online publication El Debate that while France had “a squad of the very highest calibre”, there were “no French players in it”—an apparent reference to the African and Afro-Caribbean heritage of several members of the World Cup holders’ squad.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who was in Paris for France’s National Day celebrations, also condemned the remarks, criticising “those who measure nationality by a person’s surname, birthplace or skin colour” and describing Rajoy’s comments as “shamefully xenophobic.”
The controversy comes just days after another racism incident involving France captain Kylian Mbappé, who was targeted by Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla following Paraguay’s World Cup exit. Amarilla described Mbappe as a “colonised Cameroonian” trying to pass himself off as French, prompting the striker to condemn the remarks and defend both himself and his teammates.
In France, Rajoy’s comments drew rare cross-party condemnation.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said: “France has no skin colour. Any statement to the contrary is a sign of idiocy, racism, or both combined.”
Even the far-right National Rally criticised the former Spanish leader, with party spokesman Julien Odoul calling the remarks “scandalous, shameful and deplorable” and branding Rajoy “a racist.”
Rajoy has not publicly responded to the backlash. A spokesperson for his People’s Party insisted the column was intended as sarcasm and carried no ill intent.
