{"id":933112,"date":"2026-07-14T00:25:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T00:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/933112\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T00:25:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T00:25:14","slug":"fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-under-fire-for-controversial-remarks-about-frances-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/933112\/","title":{"rendered":"FIFA World Cup: Mariano Rajoy under fire for controversial remarks about France’s team"},"content":{"rendered":"

MADRID (AP) \u2014 A former Spanish prime minister is facing criticism for saying that France\u2019s World Cup<\/a> team \u201cdoes not have any French players,\u201d which French and Spanish leaders have called racist.<\/p>\n

Mariano Rajoy, a member of Spain\u2019s conservative Popular Party, made the comment in a column for Spanish outlet El Debate ahead of Tuesday\u2019s World Cup semifinal match between the European neighbors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve won every match they\u2019ve played at this World Cup and are currently top of the FIFA rankings. They also have an exceptionally strong squad. That said, one thing they don\u2019t have is any French players,\u201d Rajoy wrote on July 10.<\/p>\n

On Monday, French Foreign Minister Jean-No\u00ebl Barrot told French broadcaster BFM TV that \u201cFrance has no skin color. Any contrary claim stems from stupidity, racism or a combination of the two.\u201d<\/p>\n

A day earlier, French Football Federation President Philippe Diallo wrote on X that \u201cMariano Rajoy\u2019s remarks about the French team carry intolerable whiffs of racism,\u201d adding that \u201cthey also raise questions about the deplorable climate that gives rise to such sentiments. Our players do not need a certificate of nationality from a former Spanish prime minister.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson from Rajoy\u2019s Popular Party on Monday said the remarks were sarcastic and made without malice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese columns are written without ill intent,\u201d spokesperson Borja S\u00e9mper said. \u201cThis expression is used without ill intent.\u201d <\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s ruling Socialist government swiftly condemned the remarks by Rajoy, who was prime minister from 2011 to 2018.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez referenced the comments without naming his predecessor, writing on X: \u201cThere are those who still measure belonging by surname, place of birth, or skin color. Others measure it by our roots in a country and our will to contribute to it. Playing soccer. Caring for our elders. Or opening businesses. France, we\u2019ll see you in the semifinals. May the best one win and may racism lose.\u201d<\/p>\n

France will face Spain on Tuesday at the home of the NFL\u2019s Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas. France midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery was asked about the comments the day before the game in a news conference at the venue and said he hadn\u2019t seen them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis French team has players from different backgrounds and origins,\u201d Zaire-Emery said through a translator. \u201cSo does the country. We are a united group, a united team, and that\u2019s all that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spanish Foreign Minister Jos\u00e9 Manuel Albares also spoke out Monday, saying the Popular Party\u2019s leader, Alberto N\u00fa\u00f1ez Feij\u00f3o, needed to disavow the remarks.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s not the first time France\u2019s team has faced racism during this year\u2019s World Cup.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, France captain and star player Kylian Mbapp\u00e9<\/a>condemned a Paraguayan senator<\/a> over remarks she made following Paraguay\u2019s loss to France in the round of 16.<\/p>\n

Celeste Amarilla, a senator from Paraguay\u2019s Liberal Radical Party, posted a series of comments on X mocking the French player\u2019s origins, upbringing, education and appearance after France won on July 4 with a penalty by Mbapp\u00e9.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MADRID (AP) \u2014 A former Spanish prime minister is facing criticism for saying that France\u2019s World Cup team…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":933113,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[45],"tags":[301257,6061,156,40783,57,121072,376289,53137,8960,376290,2068,19500,221,10452,128,8958,353987,62,67,132,68,4558,107],"class_list":["post-933112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-alberto-nez-feijo","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-france","tag-france-government","tag-general-news","tag-jos-manuel-albares","tag-mariano-rajoy","tag-paraguay","tag-pedro-sanchez","tag-philippe-diallo","tag-race-and-ethnicity","tag-racism","tag-soccer","tag-socialism","tag-spain","tag-spain-government","tag-spain-national-soccer-team","tag-sports","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-warren-zaire-emery","tag-world-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116915491598711395","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/933112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=933112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/933112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/933113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=933112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=933112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=933112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}