https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Spain in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa said Friday that Spain was a tolerant country and not racist, despite Islamophobic chanting during a national team match this week. https://www.thelocal.es/20260403/spain-is-tolerant-not-racist-says-real-madrid-coach-arbeloa Fri, 03 Apr 2026 12:35:16 +0200 spain-is-tolerant-not-racist-says-real-madrid-coach-arbeloa The national side's friendly against Egypt on Tuesday was marred by more xenophobic incidents which continue to damage the image of Spanish football, as fans booed the Egyptian national anthem and sang chants mocking Muslims. https://www.thelocal.es/20260401/islamophobic-chants-in-egypt-friendly-a-new-low-for-spanish-football Wed, 01 Apr 2026 10:37:56 +0200 islamophobic-chants-in-egypt-friendly-a-new-low-for-spanish-football After a Three Kings Day parade in Seville featured Andalusia's regional president in blackface playing King Balthazar, the debate over the outdated and racist practice has again been reignited in Spain. https://www.thelocal.es/20240105/blackface-lives-on-during-epiphany-in-spain-despite-growing-outrage Fri, 05 Jan 2024 14:01:00 +0100 blackface-lives-on-during-epiphany-in-spain-despite-growing-outrage Athletic Bilbao's first ever black captain Iñaki Williams has expressed pride at representing immigrants in Spain and called out the far right, after rare anti-migrant unrest shocked the country. https://www.thelocal.es/20250730/athletic-bilbaos-first-black-captain-says-far-right-is-in-fashion-in-spain Wed, 30 Jul 2025 16:35:14 +0200 athletic-bilbaos-first-black-captain-says-far-right-is-in-fashion-in-spain A new study has found that 99 percent of real estate agencies in Madrid and Barcelona follow homeowners' instructions to not show their rental properties to Africans, Asians and Latin Americans. https://www.thelocal.es/20250327/landlords-dont-want-foreigners-how-racism-is-rife-in-spains-rental-market Thu, 27 Mar 2025 13:21:25 +0100 landlords-dont-want-foreigners-how-racism-is-rife-in-spains-rental-market Three football fans have been arrested in Spain over the racist abuse of Barcelona players Lamine Yamal and Alejandro Balde during last month's Clásico against Real Madrid, Spanish police said Saturday. https://www.thelocal.es/20241123/three-arrested-in-spain-for-racist-abuse-at-la-liga-clasico Sat, 23 Nov 2024 14:56:32 +0100 three-arrested-in-spain-for-racist-abuse-at-la-liga-clasico Atletico Madrid on Friday permanently banned nine of their supporters from attending matches after incidents of crowd trouble and racist behaviour. https://www.thelocal.es/20241101/spains-atletico-madrid-ban-nine-fans-after-crowd-trouble-and-racism Fri, 01 Nov 2024 19:40:30 +0100 spains-atletico-madrid-ban-nine-fans-after-crowd-trouble-and-racism Real Madrid condemned racism from some of their supporters aimed at Barcelona players including teenager Lamine Yamal and Alejandro Balde during the club's 4-0 Clásico defeat on Saturday. https://www.thelocal.es/20241027/spains-real-madrid-condemn-racist-abuse-of-barcelona-players-in-el-clasico-match Sun, 27 Oct 2024 15:24:29 +0100 spains-real-madrid-condemn-racist-abuse-of-barcelona-players-in-el-clasico-match A Mallorca fan who racially abused Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior and former Villarreal player Samuel Chukwueze was sentenced to a suspended year in prison and issued a three-year stadium ban on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.es/20240926/another-football-fan-in-spain-sentenced-for-racially-abusing-black-players Thu, 26 Sep 2024 18:25:45 +0200 another-football-fan-in-spain-sentenced-for-racially-abusing-black-players For five years, numerous companies in Spain's northern Navarre region have been receiving e-mails urging them to not hire foreign workers and threatening them with boycotts if not, correspondence that's now being investigated as a hate crime. https://www.thelocal.es/20240919/spain-investigates-letters-ordering-companies-to-not-hire-foreigners Thu, 19 Sep 2024 12:04:04 +0200 spain-investigates-letters-ordering-companies-to-not-hire-foreigners Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior has called for Spain to be stripped of its 2030 World Cup hosting duties unless it makes progress on the issue of racism in stadiums. https://www.thelocal.es/20240905/vinicius-says-spain-should-lose-2030-world-cup-unless-racism-declines Thu, 05 Sep 2024 16:54:24 +0200 vinicius-says-spain-should-lose-2030-world-cup-unless-racism-declines In events reminiscent of the recent anti-immigration riots in the UK, the murder of an 11-year-old boy in a small Spanish town unleashed a frenzy of fake news on social media about the perpetrator's nationality and race. https://www.thelocal.es/20240820/analysis-boys-murder-exposes-risk-of-fake-news-frenzy-about-migrants-in-spain Tue, 20 Aug 2024 18:07:31 +0200 analysis-boys-murder-exposes-risk-of-fake-news-frenzy-about-migrants-in-spain A Spanish court has handed down an eight-month suspended jail term to a person for online racist abuse targeting Real Madrid players Vinicius Junior and Antonio Rudiger, the club said Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.es/20240718/spain-hands-out-8-month-suspended-term-for-racist-abuse-of-vinicius-and-rudiger Thu, 18 Jul 2024 12:59:26 +0200 spain-hands-out-8-month-suspended-term-for-racist-abuse-of-vinicius-and-rudiger Three Valencia fans were handed eight-month jail terms on Monday for racist abuse towards Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior, a court said, in what Spain's La Liga said was the first such conviction in Spain. https://www.thelocal.es/20240610/first-prison-sentence-handed-out-for-racism-at-spains-football-stadiums Mon, 10 Jun 2024 17:57:39 +0200 first-prison-sentence-handed-out-for-racism-at-spains-football-stadiums The Spanish Football Federation on Thursday accepted Atlético Madrid's appeal against a partial stadium ban after racial abuse directed at Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams. https://www.thelocal.es/20240510/atletico-madrid-win-appeal-over-racist-abuse-sanction Fri, 10 May 2024 11:45:44 +0200 atletico-madrid-win-appeal-over-racist-abuse-sanction Atlético Madrid must partially close their stadium for two La Liga matches after Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams suffered racial abuse there, the Spanish football federation said. https://www.thelocal.es/20240501/atletico-madrid-hit-with-partial-stadium-closure-after-racist-abuse Wed, 01 May 2024 19:00:16 +0200 atletico-madrid-hit-with-partial-stadium-closure-after-racist-abuse Athletic Bilbao forward Nico Williams said he was racially abused by "stupid people" during his team's 3-1 defeat at Atletico Madrid on Saturday in La Liga. https://www.thelocal.es/20240428/i-heard-monkey-noises-spanish-la-liga-footballer-says-racially-abused-during-game Sun, 28 Apr 2024 12:14:43 +0200 i-heard-monkey-noises-spanish-la-liga-footballer-says-racially-abused-during-game Jude Bellingham said he and his Real Madrid teammates have become accustomed to dealing with racist abuse at away grounds in Spain, but the England international does not believe the authorities will do enough to quell the problem. https://www.thelocal.es/20240417/bellingham-used-to-racist-abuse-in-spain-as-calls-for-action-fall-on-deaf-ears Wed, 17 Apr 2024 13:20:50 +0200 bellingham-used-to-racist-abuse-in-spain-as-calls-for-action-fall-on-deaf-ears Real Mallorca condemned Sunday a racist gesture made by a supporter as Real Madrid's Aurelien Tchouameni celebrated scoring the only goal of Saturday's La Liga match. https://www.thelocal.es/20240414/real-madrids-tchouameni-victim-of-racist-gesture-after-goal-at-mallorca Sun, 14 Apr 2024 19:12:12 +0200 real-madrids-tchouameni-victim-of-racist-gesture-after-goal-at-mallorca Spain's football racism problem was laid bare on Saturday with two alleged incidents of racism on the same day at separate matches, including a third-tier side that refused to finish a match after their goalkeeper faced off with fans who were allegedly racially abusing him. https://www.thelocal.es/20240331/football-racism-two-incidents-at-separate-spanish-matches-in-same-day Sun, 31 Mar 2024 11:46:49 +0200 football-racism-two-incidents-at-separate-spanish-matches-in-same-day