\n
MADRID (AP) – Spain’s former prime minister joins France’s world cup<\/span> There are “no French players” in the squad, but French and Spanish leaders have accused them of being racist.<\/p>\nMariano Rajoy of Spain’s Conservative Popular Party made the comments in a column for Spanish news outlet El Debate ahead of Tuesday’s World Cup semi-finals between the European neighbors.<\/p>\n
“They have won every match they have played in this World Cup and are currently at the top of the FIFA rankings. They also have a very strong team. However, what they are missing is the absence of French players,” Rajoy wrote on July 10.<\/p>\n
On Monday, French Foreign Minister Jean-No\u00ebl Barrault told French broadcaster BFM television: “France has no skin color. Any claims to the contrary arise from stupidity, racism or both.”<\/p>\n
A day earlier, French Football Federation president Philippe Diallo wrote in X that “Mariano Rajoy’s comments against the French national team reek of intolerable racism,” adding: “It also calls into question the dire climate that gives rise to such sentiments. Our players do not need the former Spanish Prime Minister’s citizenship certificate.”<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Rajoy’s People’s Party said Monday that the comments were sarcastic and not malicious.<\/p>\n
“These columns were written without malice,” said spokeswoman Borja Semper. “This expression is used without malice.” <\/p>\n
Spain’s ruling Socialist Party government immediately condemned the comments by Prime Minister Rajoy, who served as prime minister from 2011 to 2018.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez addressed the comments without naming his predecessor, writing about X: “Some people still measure their sense of belonging by their surname, their place of birth or the color of their skin. Others measure their sense of belonging by their roots in a country and their will to contribute to it: playing football, caring for their elders or starting a business. France, see you in the semi-finals. May the best win and racism lose.”<\/p>\n
France will play Spain in Dallas on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Spain’s Foreign Minister Jos\u00e9 Manuel \u00c1lvarez also spoke on Monday, saying that Popular Party leader Alberto Nu\u00f1ez Feijoo needed to disavow the remarks.<\/p>\n
This is not the first time France has faced racism during this World Cup.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Sign up for Morning Wire: Our flagship newsletter breaks down the day’s biggest headlines.\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Earlier this month, French captain and star player Kylian Mbappe<\/span>criticized the Paraguayan senator<\/span> over her comments after Paraguay lost to France in the round of 16.<\/p>\nAfter Mbapp\u00e9’s penalty kick France won on July 4, Celeste Amarilla, a senator from the Paraguayan Freedom Radical Party, posted a series of comments to X mocking the French player’s origin, upbringing, education and appearance.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MADRID (AP) – Spain’s former prime minister joins France’s world cup There are “no French players” in the squad, but French and Spanish leaders have accused them of being racist. Mariano Rajoy of Spain’s Conservative Popular Party made the comments in a column for Spanish news outlet El Debate ahead of Tuesday’s World Cup semi-finals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-39188","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer"},"yoast_head":"\n
FIFA World Cup: Mariano Rajoy comes under fire for controversial comments about France squad - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-comes-under-fire-for-controversial-comments-about-france-squad\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FIFA World Cup: Mariano Rajoy comes under fire for controversial comments about France squad - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"MADRID (AP) – Spain’s former prime minister joins France’s world cup There are “no French players” in the squad, but French and Spanish leaders have accused them of being racist. Mariano Rajoy of Spain’s Conservative Popular Party made the comments in a column for Spanish news outlet El Debate ahead of Tuesday’s World Cup semi-finals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-comes-under-fire-for-controversial-comments-about-france-squad\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-13T16:42:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin_ok9yktt6\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin_ok9yktt6\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-comes-under-fire-for-controversial-comments-about-france-squad\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-comes-under-fire-for-controversial-comments-about-france-squad\/\",\"name\":\"FIFA World Cup: Mariano Rajoy comes under fire for controversial comments about France squad - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-comes-under-fire-for-controversial-comments-about-france-squad\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-comes-under-fire-for-controversial-comments-about-france-squad\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/urlhttps3A2F2Fassets.apnews.com2F7c2Fb52Fa201f3c981fb6435b2ee856de50e2F4a4cdc387f6041059d1df9e7355ec8fe.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-13T16:42:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-comes-under-fire-for-controversial-comments-about-france-squad\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-comes-under-fire-for-controversial-comments-about-france-squad\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-comes-under-fire-for-controversial-comments-about-france-squad\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/urlhttps3A2F2Fassets.apnews.com2F7c2Fb52Fa201f3c981fb6435b2ee856de50e2F4a4cdc387f6041059d1df9e7355ec8fe.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/urlhttps3A2F2Fassets.apnews.com2F7c2Fb52Fa201f3c981fb6435b2ee856de50e2F4a4cdc387f6041059d1df9e7355ec8fe.jpeg\",\"width\":980,\"height\":653},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-comes-under-fire-for-controversial-comments-about-france-squad\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"FIFA World Cup: Mariano Rajoy comes under fire for controversial comments about France squad\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/\",\"name\":\"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates\",\"description\":\"EPL VIP is your ultimate source for all things related to the English Premier League. Get the latest EPL news, live match updates, transfer rumors, team analysis, fixtures, and exclusive insights for true football fans.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9\",\"name\":\"admin_ok9yktt6\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin_ok9yktt6\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/author\/admin_ok9yktt6\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"FIFA World Cup: Mariano Rajoy comes under fire for controversial comments about France squad - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-comes-under-fire-for-controversial-comments-about-france-squad\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"FIFA World Cup: Mariano Rajoy comes under fire for controversial comments about France squad - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates","og_description":"MADRID (AP) – Spain’s former prime minister joins France’s world cup There are “no French players” in the squad, but French and Spanish leaders have accused them of being racist. Mariano Rajoy of Spain’s Conservative Popular Party made the comments in a column for Spanish news outlet El Debate ahead of Tuesday’s World Cup semi-finals","og_url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-comes-under-fire-for-controversial-comments-about-france-squad\/","og_site_name":"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates","article_published_time":"2026-07-13T16:42:36+00:00","author":"admin_ok9yktt6","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin_ok9yktt6","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-comes-under-fire-for-controversial-comments-about-france-squad\/","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-comes-under-fire-for-controversial-comments-about-france-squad\/","name":"FIFA World Cup: Mariano Rajoy comes under fire for controversial comments about France squad - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-comes-under-fire-for-controversial-comments-about-france-squad\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-comes-under-fire-for-controversial-comments-about-france-squad\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/urlhttps3A2F2Fassets.apnews.com2F7c2Fb52Fa201f3c981fb6435b2ee856de50e2F4a4cdc387f6041059d1df9e7355ec8fe.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-07-13T16:42:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-comes-under-fire-for-controversial-comments-about-france-squad\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-comes-under-fire-for-controversial-comments-about-france-squad\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-comes-under-fire-for-controversial-comments-about-france-squad\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/urlhttps3A2F2Fassets.apnews.com2F7c2Fb52Fa201f3c981fb6435b2ee856de50e2F4a4cdc387f6041059d1df9e7355ec8fe.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/urlhttps3A2F2Fassets.apnews.com2F7c2Fb52Fa201f3c981fb6435b2ee856de50e2F4a4cdc387f6041059d1df9e7355ec8fe.jpeg","width":980,"height":653},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/fifa-world-cup-mariano-rajoy-comes-under-fire-for-controversial-comments-about-france-squad\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"FIFA World Cup: Mariano Rajoy comes under fire for controversial comments about France squad"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/","name":"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates","description":"EPL VIP is your ultimate source for all things related to the English Premier League. Get the latest EPL news, live match updates, transfer rumors, team analysis, fixtures, and exclusive insights for true football fans.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9","name":"admin_ok9yktt6","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin_ok9yktt6"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/eplvip.com"],"url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/author\/admin_ok9yktt6\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}