Spanish PM Sanchez rebukes predecessor for xenophobic slur against French team ahead of World Cup clash

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has forcefully condemned his conservative predecessor, Mariano Rajoy, over comments suggesting the French national football team fields no “real” French players—a remark that has ignited a firestorm of outrage from Paris to Madrid just days before the two nations meet in the World Cup semi-finals.

The controversy erupted after Rajoy, who led Spain from 2011 to 2018, published an opinion column in the Spanish daily El Debate on Friday. While acknowledging the team’s quality, he wrote that France boasts “a very high-level squad. Of course, without Frenchmen”.

The remark—seen as targeting players with immigrant backgrounds—sparked immediate backlash. On Sunday, Sánchez took to X to deliver a pointed response without naming Rajoy directly.

“Some people still measure belonging by surname, place of birth, or skin color,” Sánchez wrote. “Others measure it by their attachment to a country and their willingness to contribute to it—whether by playing football, caring for the elderly, or opening businesses”.

He added: “Spain belongs to those who love it and help make it live. Not to those who dishonor it with xenophobic statements”. Addressing France directly, he concluded: “See you in the semi-finals. May the best team win, and may racism lose”.

French Officials Demand Action

French officials have condemned the remarks as “absolutely unacceptable”. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez emphasized that “all players on the French national team are French,” with 23 of the 26 squad members born in France.

Overseas Minister Naïma Moutchou called it “methodical and normalized hatred” and urged the French Football Federation to pursue legal action. Discrimination Minister Aurore Bergé condemned “repeated and unbearable racist slips”.

French Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure pushed back directly: “France is not an ethnic nation. It has no skin color or religion. It is a political nation gathered around republican values”. Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel accused Rajoy of “blatant racism”.

A Pattern of Provocation

The incident follows similar controversies: an Argentine official recently called the French team an “African team without manners,” and a Paraguayan senator mocked Kylian Mbappé’s heritage. With Spain and France set to clash on Tuesday, Sánchez’s message made clear that on his watch, such rhetoric does not represent Spain.