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'No racism in Spain' – De la Fuente message for Tuchel

'No racism in Spain' – De la Fuente message for Tuchel

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente says "there is no racism in Spain" after Thomas Tuchel issued a warning to his England players before Sunday's Nations League meeting in Madrid.

Luis de la Fuente has dismissed concerns over racism in Spanish football before the national team's Uefa Nations League meeting with England in Madrid on Sunday.

Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel had earlier confirmed he would remind his players of Uefa's anti-racism protocol before the fixture, which will determine who finishes top of League A Group 3.

While he has stressed he didn't expect there to be any incidents, the visit will be England's first to the Spanish capital since a notorious 2004 encounter at the Bernabeu was overshadowed by racist chanting directed at their players.

Spain head coach De la Fuente was asked whether Tuchel's message to his players showed there was still work needed to tackle racism in Spain.

But he responded: "What I'd tell you, and you can tell Thomas, is that in Spain, there's no racism.

"Just like that, crystal clear. Just like in England, there's no racism in Spain. We aren't racist, any of us."

The Spanish Football Federation was fined last month and ordered to partially close a stadium after supporters directed Islamophobic and xenophobic chants towards Muslims during a match against Egypt in Barcelona.

In the domestic game, Real Madrid's Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr has been a vocal anti-racism campaigner after frequently being on the end of racist chanting - and worse.

In brief

Luis de la Fuente has dismissed concerns over racism in Spanish football before the national team's Uefa Nations League meeting with England in Madrid on Sunday. Spain head coach De la Fuente was asked whether Tuchel's message to his players showed there was still work needed to tackle racism in Spain. Just like in England, there's no racism in Spain.

This is the opening of the story, shared with credit to BBC Sport. The rest of the report — with every detail — continues on the publisher’s website.

Continue reading at BBC Sport ↗

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