Barcelona teenage sensation Lamine Yamal broke down in tears following their 4-2 loss to Athletic Club in the Copa del Rey quarterfinal on Wednesday, January 24 as he was racially abused on Twitter/X and Instagram
Barcelona crumbled in the CRD R16 at San Mames.
Barcelona fans racially abuse Lamine Yamal on Instagram following Copa del Rey defeat
❗Fans are criticizing and making racist comments to Lamine Yamal in his last post on IG for missing his chances against Athletic.
– "M*nkey"
– "N*gga"
– "Messi wouldn't have missed, I don't care if you're 16… You don't play for free, you're a professional!"Unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/aoRHl1jgAV
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) January 25, 2024
Barcelona fans are racially abusing a 16 year old Lamine Yamal really sad to see.. pic.twitter.com/cw2xxTzD40
— RMFC (@TeamRMFC) January 25, 2024
The Blaugrana, who are now in third place in La Liga with 20 games played, fell behind 1-0 in the most recent cup match following a goal from Gorka Guruzeta in the first minute. But in the 26th minute, Robert Lewandowski equalized when his left boot bounced off a botched clearance attempt.
Six minutes later, Yamal dribbled past two Athletic players and scored with a superb left-footed curling effort. The sixteen-year-old then missed two excellent opportunities in the 65th and 86th minutes, respectively.
Racist comments and criticism for Lamine Yamal, when he was the one who tried the hardest against Ahtletic. He does not deserve this. There is no room for racism. Full support for Lamine Yamal. pic.twitter.com/QaBf6n6SVh
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) January 25, 2024
Athletic made the most of their home crowd at the San Mames after the game was deadlocked 2-2 after the end of regulation time. In the Copa del Rey match, Inaki Williams scored in the 105th minute, and his brother Nico added another in the 120th minute of extra time.
Barca fans blame Lamine Yamal for the loss
After the end of the game, Yamal reportedly broke down in tears, according to Cadena SER. The young assailant was reportedly comforted by Blaugrana president Joan Laporta, who also praised and encouraged him for his performance.
Later, the teenager apologized on social media for his faults before the start of extra time after his club’s cup exit. He shared the following on his Instagram story: “Everything was left on the field. Culés, I apologize for the errors. There is no other option, so we must continue working.”
Moreover, Xavi Hernandez, the manager of Barcelona, backed Yamal and stated that he wasn’t to blame for his team’s 4-2 defeat. In the post-match conference, Xavi said that even though he was unhappy not to take the chance at 2-2, the child wasn’t to blame. He even praised Lamine further since as a kid of 16 he performed beautifully and generated the chances himself.
However, it seems like Barcelona fans were surely not happy with Lamine missing a sitter and failing to find the winner. Many even blamed and abused him in his recent Instagram post. In his most recent Instagram post, Lamine received criticism and racial remarks such as “M*nkey” and “N*gga” from fans for missing up his opportunities against Athletic.
Throughout this season, Yamal, a four-cap Spain international, has started 12 of his 29 games for Barcelona. In his 1,381 minutes of first-team play thus far, he has three goals and five assists.