Spain players fire back at ex-PM who said France has 'no French players'
Former Spanish prime minister claimed France has 'no French players.' Cubarsí and Borja Iglesias responded ahead of the World Cup semi-final.
The semi-final between Spain and France was already running hot before a ball had been kicked. Now it's even hotter.
Former Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy, who governed the country between 2011 and 2018, published a piece in the newspaper El Debate acknowledging the strength of Les Bleus at the World Cup — but with one sentence that set the debate ablaze: he wrote that his opponents boast a squad of the highest quality, but with "no French players." The remark was widely condemned as racist and xenophobic.
Spain's own squad refused to stay silent. Borja Iglesias, the Celta de Vigo striker, was blunt: "This surprises me and saddens me," he told DAZN. In his view, France's multiculturalism is a strength, not a weakness — "we are all different, and that is what enriches us," he added.
Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsí was even more to the point in an interview with radio station RAC 1: "If they play for the French national team, they are French, regardless of the colour of their skin."
Current prime minister Pedro Sánchez also waded in, labelling Rajoy's words xenophobic. "Spain belongs to those who love it and work for it. Not to those who bring it shame," Sánchez declared, signing off with a message: "France, see you in the semi-finals. May the best team win — and may racism lose."
On the pitch, the tie is worth a place in the World Cup final. The match is scheduled for Tuesday at 16:00 (Brasília time) in Dallas. Golmetria's model gives Spain a 35% chance of lifting the trophy and France 14% — but a semi-final is a semi-final, and football doesn't read spreadsheets.
The controversy stays outside. What matters now is what happens on the pitch.