Spanish TV station Movistar issue apology after ‘racist’ Lamine Yamal comment

Spanish television broadcaster Movistar Plus have issued an apology after pundit German Burgos made a derogatory comment about Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal on air.

The former Atletico Madrid assistant, who was working as an analyst for Wednesday’s Champions League matches, made the controversial remark during the warm-up prior to Barca’s 3-2 victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes.

As Yamal, who was born in Barcelona to Moroccan and Equatorial Guinean parents, was doing keepy-ups on screen, Burgos said: ‘If football doesn’t work out, he’ll end up at a traffic light’.

The comment was a reference to immigrants in Spain who juggle for change at traffic lights and was condemned online, with many viewers feeling it was insensitive at best and, at worst, racist.