Yamal, soccer star and son of African migrants, personifies a changing Spain

 

 "Yamal’s response was interpreted as a criticism of the implication that players of immigrant background do not completely belong to the countries that they play for. In countries like France and Spain, where the children of nonwhite immigrants sometimes struggle to penetrate the establishment, soccer provides a rare opportunity to become national icons.

Yamal, born and raised in Spain, has also felt the sting of anti-Muslim slurs in soccer stadiums. Spanish fans, who almost certainly knew that their star player was Muslim, tried to motivate the crowd to jump up and down in a game against Egypt this year by chanting “You’re a Muslim if you don’t jump.” That prompted Yamal to lament “ignorant, racist” fans who were “disrespectful” to Muslims. He has also faced criticism from Moroccans who felt betrayed by Yamal’s playing for Spain and not Morocco, where his father was born."

read report by Jason Horowitz

Yamal, soccer star and son of African migrants, personifies a changing Spain