Real Madrid, Spanish league and government condemn racist insults against Yamal in league 'clasico'

MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid, the Spanish league and the local government on Sunday condemned racist insults against Lamine Yamal during Saturday's “clasico,” and Madrid said it was working to identify those who abused the Barcelona forward.

Madrid said it “has opened an investigation in order to locate and identify the perpetrators of these deplorable and despicable insults so that the appropriate disciplinary and judicial measures can be taken.”

The league said it was going to formally denounce the “intolerable racist” insults and gestures against Barcelona players at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

The league said it “strongly condemns these events” and “remains firm in its commitment to eradicate any type of racist behaviour and hatred inside and outside stadiums. There is no place for this scourge in sport.”

The Spanish government said the commission in charge of fighting against violence, racism and other hate crimes in sport will meet Monday to analyze what happened at the Bernabeu.

"The ‘clasico’ is one of the greatest spectacles in the world, a true expression of the importance that soccer has in our country," the government said. “During this game, or in any sporting event, there can never be any room for expressions of violence, racism, xenophobia, hatred or intolerance.”

The reaction came after videos on social media showed the alleged insults against Yamal after he scored Barcelona's third goal in the second half of its 4-0 rout of Madrid. The 17-year-old celebrated in a corner in front of Madrid fans and made some gestures apparently provoking the fans.

A few fans could be heard yelling insults at Yamal and the other Barcelona players.

“Real Madrid strongly condemns any kind of behaviour involving racism, xenophobia or violence in football and sport, and deeply regrets the insults that a few fans uttered last night in one of the corners of the stadium,” the club said in a statement.

Madrid has been denouncing racist insults against its forward Vinícius Júnior, who is also Black, for several years, including when he played a match at Barcelona's Camp Nou Stadium.

Four Atletico Madrid fans who allegedly led a social media campaign aimed at promoting racist acts against Vinícius were detained earlier this month.

Barcelona's victory left the Catalan club six points ahead of Madrid at the top of the league standings after 11 matches.

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Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates after a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates after a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, left, celebrates with Barcelona's Alejandro Balde after scoring his side's third goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

SAO PAULO (AP) — Voters in Brazil’s biggest city, Sao Paulo, started going to the polls Sunday in a mayoral race pitting incumbent Mayor Ricardo Nunes against leftist lawmaker Guilherme Boulos.

Nunes has lukewarm support from former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro while Boulos is an ally of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Different polls published Saturday showed Nunes, who inherited the mayorship after Bruno Covas died of cancer in 2021, is the favorite to win. His advantage against Boulos is greater than the margin of error of the Datafolha and Quaest polls.

Boulos, in a last-ditch effort for exposure, on Friday accepted an invitation to debate self-help guru turned far-right politician Pablo Marçal, who finished third in the first round of voting on Oct. 7. At the end of the debate, Marçal urged his voters not to vote Sunday. Lower turnout could work against Nunes.

Most of the attention in this year's round of municipal elections in Brazil has been on Sao Paulo, where the race was marred by episodes of violence involving Marçal in the first round of voting. Boulos, a longtime housing advocate for the poor, has been campaigning nonstop to avoid his second consecutive defeat in the race.

Other Brazilian cities with more than 200,000 registered voters are also holding mayoral elections.

In Rio de Janeiro, incumbent Mayor Eduardo Paes was reelected in the first round of voting for his fourth, non-consecutive term. Paes, an enthusiastic fan of Carnival, had Lula’s support but focused his campaign on local issues against Bolsonaro’s candidate, Alexandre Ramagem.

Brazilians will be also watching closely for results in Belo Horizonte, one of the country’s biggest cities, where polls suggest Mayor Fuad Noman faces a close race with pro-Bolsonaro candidate Bruno Engler.

The vote in Fortaleza, another of the nation’s biggest cities, is in a dead heat between the candidate from Lula's Workers' Party, Evandro Leitão, and pro-Bolsonaro challenger André Fernandes.

Follow AP’s Brazil coverage at https://www.apnews.com/hub/brazil

FILE - A view of Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attends a signing ceremony of a compensation agreement for damages caused by the 2015 collapse of the Mariana dam owned by the mining company Samarco, a joint venture of Vale and BHP, at the Planalto Presidential Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)