BREAKING: France – Spain
Tension between France and Spain ahead of the semi-final match:
Former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy sparked controversy after describing the French national team, Spain’s opponent in the 2026 World Cup semi-final, as a team “without French players,”
Rajoy, who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018, wrote in an article published in the newspaper El Debate that the French team is “very strong, has an excellent squad, plays fantastic football, and will be a tough opponent, despite having no French players.”
These remarks sparked outrage in France, with Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau describing them as “blatant r@c!sm”.
For his part, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin stressed that all the players on the national team are French and fully represent their country, emphasizing that stripping them of this status constitutes discr!min@t0ry rhetoric unbecoming of a former head of government.
The head of the Renaissance party’s parliamentary bloc, Gabriel Attal, also considered Rajoy’s statements to reflect “repugnant r@c!sm,” stressing that the national team embodies the diversity of French society, and that French identity is not determined by origins or skin color.
For his part, the president of the French Football Federation, Philippe Diallo, condemned the statements, stressing that they undermine the values of respect and diversity on which French football is based, and that targeting players because of their origins is unacceptable.