Spain's national football coach Luis de la Fuente condemned "xenophobic or racist attitudes" after supporters sang anti-Muslim chants during a friendly match against Egypt on Tuesday night.
At half-time and during the second half, a message was relayed over the stadium’s loudspeaker system asking fans not to use such chants.
A message on the stadium screen read: “We remind you the legislation to prevent violence in sport forbids and punishes the active participation in violent, xenophobic, homophobic or racist acts.”
Now, Yamal has responded to the chanting in a post on Instagram as he reminds fans of his religion and the importance of respect.
“I am a Muslim, Alhamdulillah. Yesterday at the stadium the chant of “the one who doesn’t jump is a Muslim” was heard. I know I was going for the rival team, and it wasn’t something personal against me, but as a Muslim person it doesn’t stop being disrespectful and something intolerable.
“I understand that not all fanatics are like this, but to those who sing these things: using a religion as a mockery in a field leaves you ignorant and racist people. Football is to be enjoyed and encouraged, not to disrespect people for who they are or what they believe in.
“With that being said, thank you to the people who came to cheer us on, see you at the World Cup.”
Around 90 per cent of Egypt is Muslim and as chants were aimed at their opponents on the night, clearly many Spanish fans forgot that one of the best players is also of the same religion.
As the World Cup approaches, Spain will face Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay in Group H, while Egypt are scheduled to face Belgium, New Zealand and Iran in Group G.