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3 Lions manager Thomas Tuchel had actually previously validated he would advise his gamers of Uefa’s anti-racism procedure before the component, which will identify who completes top of League A Group 3.
While he has actually worried he didn’t anticipate there to be any occurrences, the check out will be England’s very first to the Spanish capital because an infamous 2004 encounter at the Bernabeu was eclipsed by racist shouting directed at their gamers.
Spain head coach De la Fuente was asked whether Tuchel’s message to his gamers revealed there was still work required to deal with bigotry in Spain.
He reacted: “What I’d tell you, and you can tell Thomas, is that in Spain, there’s no racism.
“Easily, crystal clear. Similar to in England, there’s no bigotry 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 2024 three Valencia fans were sentenced to eight months in prison for abusing him at a match.
Uefa operates a three-step protocol, allowing referees to stop matches, take players off the pitch temporarily and, ultimately, abandon a game if discriminatory behaviour continues.
Tuchel said on Friday: “Possibly we take our 5 minutes to notify the gamers about the procedure if there is a precedent. And after that, yeah, we will provide our responses if things like this occurs. Finest responses are on the pitch.”
However, when asked again about his views at a pre-match news conference on Saturday, Tuchel added: “I never ever discuss bigotry in Spain.
“I answered politely a question about what happens, I never expect racism. I got asked, ‘what will happen if and if and if?’. And I said, ‘if it happens, there’s a protocol in place’. That’s it.
“My trust is that we have a friendly environment, that we have an environment who is plainly in favour of the Spanish group, and that football does what it does finest: brings individuals together and not divide individuals.”
Midfielder Declan Rice said: “In the past, I’ve experienced that in Montenegro and Bulgaria and there was a procedure in location that we followed – we came off the pitch. We understand precisely where we are as a group on that.
“The times we are in now, 2026, there should never be racism in football. It’s shocking we still have it in the game today.
“I do not wish to think of if among our gamers or their gamers is racially mistreated since that would be an awful mark on football.”
Spain were crowned World Cup winners in the summertime, while England ended up third after losing to Argentina in the semi-finals.
“I choose the Spanish design. It’s extremely recognisable, the gamers are completely adjusted,” said De la Fuente. “The English design is great, however you need to have that kind of gamer. Neither England can play like Spain, nor Spain like England.”
He suggested Spain had faced increasingly aggressive opposition as their recent success had raised expectations.
“It’s our finest minute in a very long time,” added De la Fuente, whose side also lifted the Euro 2024 title by beating England. “They are all far more aggressive to beat us now than in other times.”
He also defended the value of Spanish players, arguing their performances often outweighed their transfer-market prices compared with those in the Premier League.
“Spanish footballers shock me that, compared to what is paid in England, they are extremely inexpensive,” he explained. “I see them as much better, in my viewpoint. Everybody in their market can set the costs.”
On the fitness of forward Lamine Yamal, he remained cautious over whether the Barcelona teenager would start or how long he could manage.
“We will see if he is a starter, however if he comes out, it’s due to the fact that he’s healthy to play,” stated De la Fuente.
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