“It gives me a really gratifying feeling to see these two kids playing for Spain at this Euros,” says Jonas Ramalho. “It’s really positive. People like me can identify with them and I know they are role models for others in our situation.”
The former Athletic Bilbao, Girona, and Malaga defender Ramalho is talking about watching young forwards Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal star for Spain at Euro 2024.
Ramalho, now 31, was born in Bilbao to a Spanish mother and an Angolan father in 1993. He captained Spain’s under-17s to a European Championship final in 2010, was a squad member as the under-19s won the Euros in 2011, and played all five games when they won the under-19 trophy again in 2012.
In November 2011, he became the first Black player in Athletic Bilbao’s history, given a La Liga debut by Marcelo Bielsa at the age of 18.
Current Athletic forward Williams was born in Pamplona in July 2002. Nine years previous to that, his Ghanaian parents Maria and Felix travelled overland, across the Sahara desert to the Spanish enclave of Melilla in north Africa, when Maria was pregnant with her first son Inaki (as the elder Williams sibling told The Athletic in an interview in 2022).
Barcelona forward Yamal’s father is from Morocco and his mother is from Equatorial Guinea. He was born in the Barcelona suburb of Esplugues de Llobregat in July 2007 and grew up in the majority-immigrant Rocafonda neighbourhood of the Catalan city of Mataro.
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“All through Spain today, there are kids with parents from Asia, Africa, Morocco — lots of places,” says Ramalho, who spent last season at Al Ahli in Bahrain. “(Nico and Lamine) have a different skin colour, but they’re two more members of the squad who give everything for Spain.
(Ryan Pierse – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
“Maybe 15 years ago it was something that stood out more. The world works like that. People come from around the world to live in Spain. They have kids who are 100 per cent Spanish and maybe some of them (watching these Euros) will follow (Nico and Lamine) to the national team.
“In the academy at Athletic, they always aimed for me to not feel different over the colour of my skin. I was born in Bilbao, I was Basque, and could play perfectly well for Athletic Bilbao and for Spain, too. I never felt there was any reason to seem different.
“I was always very proud to go with the Spain youth teams. I was fortunate enough to be named captain and also to win under-19 championships. It’s something I’ll always remember. I was always treated like just one more member of the team.
“Fifteen or 20 years ago in Spain, though, the situation was different. There were not many people from similar situations.
Ramalho (left), with Jese (centre) and Derik Osede (right) in July 2012 (Jarek Joepera/AFP/GettyImages)
“In football, there are always some people who lack education, insult players, make racist comments as part of the rivalry between teams. There are racist people and ignorant people in every country but, in general terms, Spanish football is not racist.”
There have, however, been regular incidents of racism in Spanish football, going back decades. The most high profile of recent years came in May 2023 when Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior called out the abuse he had suffered that night at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium and on many other occasions in different stadiums around Spain.
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Following that Valencia game, Vinicius Jr said “La Liga belongs to racists”. La Liga president Javier Tebas responded by saying Vinicius was “misinformed”, for which Tebas quickly had to apologise amid a global outpouring of support for the Brazilian and criticism of a lack of action against racism in Spanish football.
But incidents have continued — including Vinicius Jr again being abused at Sevilla in October and Nico Williams being targeted with monkey noises at Atletico Madrid in April last season. “There are fools in all places,” Williams said after that game. “So it’s not a big deal, we have to keep working so that this changes bit by bit, as in the end we are having an internal and external fight against this. It is what it is.”
Williams pointed to his arm as he celebrated a goal at Atletico (Oscar del Pozo/AFP via Getty Images)
Salva Moya has written several books about racism in Spanish and European football, including Catching Hate Offside, co-authored with Marce Arellano, in 2019.
“It’s not that people in (other countries such as) England are better or more clever,” he says. “The problem (of racism) just happened (there) earlier, and the search for solutions.
“Going back to Franco’s times, there were very few Black players in Spain. From around 1990, Black players at La Liga teams started to become natural. With the ultras movement, there were many problems, and lots of violence.”
In 1992, Real Madrid fans chanted ‘Ku Klux Klan’ as Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper Wilfred Agbonavbare prepared to face a penalty. Madrid left-back Roberto Carlos experienced monkey chants at the Camp Nou in 1997. South African midfielder Quinton Fortune suffered racist abuse from a team-mate while a teenager on loan at Real Mallorca from Atletico Madrid in 1995.
In 2004, England players including Ashley Cole, Jermaine Jenas and Shaun Wright-Phillips were subjected to monkey noises from Spanish fans during a friendly at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu.
“A turning point was when (Barcelona forward) Samuel Eto’o suffered monkey chants in many Spanish stadiums,” Moya says. “The government passed a new law against racism after Eto’o made his gesture at (Real Zaragoza’s) La Romareda (in 2006).”
Eto’o went to leave the pitch at Real Zaragoza after suffering racist abuse (Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
After an international outcry when Eto’o wanted to leave the pitch but was persuaded to continue, Spain’s socialist government introduced new legislation. This was the first law specifically combating racism and intolerance in Spanish football and included punishments such as the partial closure of stadiums and heavy fines for clubs.
It seemed an important step forward. However, the law’s full rigour has never been applied and incidents have continued.
Alberto Edjogo Owono played for Espanyol’s youth teams before joining Sabadell in Spain’s third tier in the 2000s. Born in Barcelona, his mother is from Andalusia and his father is from Equatorial Guinea, who he represented three times as a senior international. He is now a TV pundit with DAZN Espana.
“Spain’s modern history is not like that of England or France; the ethnic mix arrived a lot later,” Edjogo says. “Most of the immigration was from Latin America, but we are now in a moment with more cultural diversity. Having Nico and Lamine in the Spain team is a blessing and an example.
“Unlike other Black players who played for Spain, like Donato, Catanha and Marcos Senna, they were born here. It’s not someone who came from outside. That’s very important for children of immigrants, the second generation.”
Donato became the first Black player to play for Spain in 1994. He was born in Brazil, as were Catanha and Marcos Senna, who also switched allegiance when playing in La Liga. Barcelona-born midfielder Vicente Engonga played for La Roja in the late 1990s, while more recent Black senior internationals include Thiago Alcantara, Rodrigo Moreno, Adama Traore, Ansu Fati, and Alejandro Balde.
“I’ve often talked with Donato about his experiences,” Moya says. “He was always respected and was welcomed inside and outside the dressing room. Marcos Senna was European champion with Luis Aragones (in 2008). Now it is the turn of Yamal and Williams and Spanish fans are very happy. There is no problem in that sense.”
Williams celebrates after his goal against Georgia (Rolf Vennenbernd/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The two youngsters have become the face of the national team at this tournament — both are very popular with most Spanish fans and their emergence has been celebrated in the national media.
Yamal and Williams were featured together on a Marca cover with the headline ‘Two Ferraris against Italy’ on June 19, the day of Spain’s second Group B game at this summer’s Euros.
There have, however, been some who have loudly protested against the idea of non-white faces in the Spanish national team.
Right-wing provocateur Alberto Caliu reposted the Marca cover on X with a message saying: “The Spanish national team jersey should only be worn by Spaniards,” to which Williams responded: “Turn off the radio, dimwit.”
Apaga la radio ignorante🥱
— Nicolas Williams (@willliamsssnico) June 21, 2024
Another to question whether Yamal and Williams should be playing for Spain has been far-right activist Vito Quiles. He is an associate of Alvise Perez, a recently elected MEP representing a new ‘Se acabo la fiesta’ party, which peddles QAnon-style conspiracy theories and received 800,000 votes in Spain’s European elections in June. Former Spanish FA (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales appeared on Perez’s YouTube show last December.
Caliu, Quiles and Perez are fringe figures in Spain, but immigration is an issue for more mainstream parties too. The day before Spain’s Euro 2024 quarter-final with Germany, the opposition conservative People’s Party called on the ruling socialists to send the army to intercept rafts supposedly bringing illegal immigrants across the Mediterranean, a policy previously proposed by the far-right VOX.
“To use football for this kind of demagoguery is shameful,” Edjogo says. “It’s the typical debate, trying to make some noise, find a loudspeaker, but such simple messages always have their audiences — in Spain and in Europe. Some young people are frustrated and unhappy and the far-right always takes advantage with very extreme messages.”
Yamal and Williams have a strong bond off the pitch (James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Spain’s government, La Liga and the RFEF all say they are doing everything they can to eradicate racism from football stadiums while talking of difficulties in controlling individual behaviour. Leaders in politics and football are well aware of the reputational damage to Spanish football and society, but action has often focused on marketing slogans and social media campaigns.
Meanwhile, incidents have continued. When Inaki Williams was abused at Espanyol’s ground in January 2020, individuals were identified and charged, but the legal case has still not been resolved.
After Nico was targeted with monkey noises at the Metropolitano in April, Atletico were punished with a two-game stadium ban, but they appealed it and were successful. The RFEF said the club could not have prevented what it called an “isolated incident”, something that upset many who still feel much more must be done.
“No player should ever suffer racism in a football stadium, in Spain or anywhere else,” Ramalho says. “When that happened to Nico at Atletico Madrid, I was the first to support him. I know the Williams brothers’ situation very well and I will always support them, or any other Black player, to the maximum.”
Early June brought the first-ever conviction for racism in a Spanish football stadium, when three Valencia fans were found guilty of abusing Vinicius Jr in May 2023’s incident at Mestalla. The three were given eight-month suspended jail sentences after a plea bargain to which the Spanish prosecutors, La Liga, the Spanish FA, Real Madrid, Vinicius Jr’s legal team and the defence lawyers all agreed.
“With Vinicius Jr, we have seen that the law was there previously, but it was not strongly applied,” Moya says.
“Such a prison sentence had never been handed out before in Spain. The first thing is to recognise the problem (of racism) and we’ve done that now. Second, to know the true weight of the problem. We’re in that phase at the moment. Third is the solutions — and we’re moving onto that now, important steps have been made, with stronger punishments.
“There are fewer incidents now, but it’s not totally eradicated and we cannot let our guard down. We must keep insisting.”
Williams and Yamal are expected to start together again for Spain in tomorrow’s (Friday) Euro 2024 quarter-final with Germany. Their emergence as key players in Luis de la Fuente’s team has brought a new aspect to Spain’s play, making them more entertaining for fans and neutrals and placing them now among the favourites to lift the trophy.
¿🪨📰✂️? ¡¡Estos dos “𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘀” se juegan hasta el sitio donde sentarse!!@willliamsssnico y Lamine Yamal nos cuentan quién es “padre” de quién, sus juegos, bailes…
🤪 ¡¡Vaya dos cracks se han ido a juntar en la @SEFutbol!!https://t.co/07axI2Bsyf#VamosEspaña | #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/FmFlZTfbWL
— Selección Española Masculina de Fútbol (@SEFutbol) July 2, 2024
The two youngsters look completely at ease playing for Spain. They have also built a very close bond, calling each other “brother” and engaging many fans (young and old) with moments such as playing rock, paper, scissors to decide who could drink first from a water bottle after both starred in Sunday’s 4-1 victory over Georgia in the last 16.
“Nico and Lamine represent different values to those often stereotypically related to African football — like the tough defender or hard-running midfielder,” Edjogo says. “They are expressive, creative players, and also successful. It’s very important for second-generation kids to have these examples.”
(Top photo: Image Photo Agency/Getty Images)
