dpBarcelona’s La Liga meeting with Getafe last Saturday threw up a flashpoint between Lamine Yamal and Abdelkabir Abqar, the Madrid side’s defender, after the pair traded sharp words during the game.
Spanish newspaper “Sport” revealed the details, citing footage broadcast by the programme “El Dia Despues” on the “Movistar+” platform. It began with Barcelona’s players protesting a decision by referee Jesus Gil Manzano in Getafe’s penalty area.
The Barcelona forward collided with goalkeeper David Soria, and Gil Manzano gave the foul against the Catalan player. Barcelona’s players surrounded the referee, convinced the Getafe keeper was the guilty party.
Yamal was among those making his case. As he complained, Abqar came over and started goading him about his Moroccan roots: “Lamine, Lamine, you want to play for Morocco.. Lamine, you want that”, a jibe at the Barcelona star’s decision to represent Spain rather than Morocco at international level.
Yamal used his arm to push the Getafe defender away so he could keep talking to the referee. Abqar followed him, repeating the comments. The Barcelona man then walked off without taking the bait, and the referee showed no reaction to any of it, according to the footage circulating.
Those images put Yamal’s Moroccan roots back under the spotlight, given his choice to play for Spain. They also lifted the lid on the tension running through the game, far from anything that showed up in the technical events on the pitch.
