Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) hosted Barcelona on 10 April at Parc de Princes for a Champions League quarter-final 1st leg match. But the two clubs rejected Movistar’s TV interviews after the game after an on-air analyst made a racist remark.
German Burgo, Atletico Madrid’s former assistant manager, commented about Lamine Yamal saying, “If football doesn’t work out for him, he can end up [working] at a traffic light.”
Ricardo Sierra Apologizes for Burgo’s Racist Remark
Yamal plays as a forward for Barcelona. He has Equatorial Guinean and Moroccan heritage. Barcelona and PSG deemed Burgo’s remark racist, as it associated the footballer with people who borrow money from drivers at traffic lights.
Ricardo Sierra, a Movistar journalist stated on air, “I understand many of you want to hear from Barça players and coaches, but UEFA, PSG, and Barça have informed us they will not speak to us because they are angry with a comment made in the studio before the game. Therefore, there won’t be any reaction, so I apologize from here — as we should do back in the studio.”
German Burgo Apologizes
Burgo later apologized for his racist remark, “I wish I had had the ability this kid has. It was a comment made without meaning to hurt anyone. We talk about football, nothing else. If he felt offended, I am sorry and I apologize publicly. It was not the intention. Sometimes humor gets you into trouble. In these times you have to adapt to everything and that’s what we are doing.”
He made the distasteful comment on Yamal after he became the youngest footballer to play in a Champions League quarterfinal. He was 16 years and 272 days old yesterday when he made an assist for Raphinha’s first goal. Unfortunately, Vitinha and Ousmane Dembele helped PSG return to the game in the second half.
Raphina scored again for Barcelona before Andreas Christensen’s 77th-minute header earned them a 3-2 lead. PSG and Barcelona will play their second-leg game on Tuesday in Barcelona. The winner will play against Borussia Dortmund or Atletico Madrid in the tournament’s semifinal.
Is Yamal the First Spanish Player to Get a Racist Remark?
Racism is on the rise in Spanish football now. Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid’s forward, got racist chants recently. Still, similar chants against Cheikh Sarr, Rayo Majadahonda’s goalkeeper, caused their third-division game to be abandoned.
Sarr, unlike Junior, responded to the fans and received a two-match ban. Sestao’s supporters insulted the goalkeeper after their team won 3-0. A disciplinary committee gave Sestao a $6,496 fine and two-game stadium closure.
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