De la Fuente’s ‘no racism’ claim contradicted by Spanish football convictions

At a press conference on Saturday, De la Fuente was asked whether England’s preparations showed that Spanish football still had work to do to tackle racism. “Tell Tuchel that there is no racism in Spain,” he said, in a translation of his remarks reported by Spanish newspaper AS. He added that the same was true of England.

Spanish courts have convicted supporters over racist abuse at football matches. In 2024, three Valencia fans were each sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to racially insulting Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior during a match in 2023.

In a separate case in 2025, five Valladolid supporters received one-year prison sentences for racist insults directed at Vinícius during a match in 2022. Real Madrid said suspension of the sentences was conditional on the fans staying away from football stadiums for three years, among other measures.

The cases show that racist abuse has occurred, although they do not establish how prevalent it is or predict what will happen on Sunday.

England manager Thomas Tuchel had said his team might spend a few minutes reminding players of Uefa’s anti-racism protocol. He stressed that he did not expect an incident and said on Saturday that he had been answering a hypothetical question. “My trust is that we have a friendly atmosphere,” he said.

Uefa’s procedure allows a referee to stop play, suspend a match temporarily and ultimately abandon it if racist behaviour continues.

Sunday’s game will be England’s first against Spain in Madrid since a 2004 match at the Bernabéu in which England players were subjected to racist chanting. The Guardian reports that England have played three times elsewhere in Spain since then without such incidents.

The Nations League match at the Metropolitano will decide which team finishes top of the group. A draw would be enough for Spain; England need to win.