Barcelona Prodigy Lamine Yamal Sparks Controversy Over Moroccan Jersey Video

In a video circulated on social media on Thursday, we see Yamal in a locker room with his Spanish teammates, wearing the Moroccan national team jersey and kissing its emblem. This provoked the anger of the Spaniards. Some doubt his "loyalty" to the Spanish national team, while others have sent him hateful and racist messages. They wish he would be injured or suffer other types of harm.

In reality, this is not a recent video. This video was filmed after Morocco’s victory over Spain in the round of 16 of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Yamal plays for the Spanish youth teams and is currently in Hungary to participate in the Under-17 European Championship. To date, the Moroccan-born prodigy has not yet decided to defend the colors of the Moroccan flag. A wish cherished by Fouzi Lekjaa, the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) and coach Walid Regragui.

Born in Spain to a Moroccan father and an Equatorial Guinean mother, Lamine has made his promising debuts in the youth categories of Barça and the Spanish team (U15, U16, U17 and U19). At only 15 years old, the young player has broken several precocity records, including those of his elders like Ansu Fati and the one held since 1941 by the Spaniard Vicenç Martinez by becoming at 15 years and 290 days the youngest player in the history of FC Barcelona. He also became the fifth youngest player in history to make his debut in a Liga match, across all clubs.