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De la Fuente claims 'no racism' in Spain before England showdown

Speaking to reporters a day after England coach Thomas Tuchel said he would speak to his players about the anti-racism protocol in place before Sunday's match in Madrid, De la Fuente said there is "no racism" in Spain.

✦ Extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting•From 3 sources•1 min read•Updated November 14, 2026, 9:04 PM UTC
Key points
  • And although England have returned to Spain three times without incident since then, twice in Seville and once in Alicante, Tuchel was asked on Friday about going back in the buildup to Sunday’s game.
  • The England coach replied that England “will not expect anything [untoward]” but also said: “maybe we take our five minutes to inform the players about the protocol if there is a precedent [in Madrid].” Continue reading...
  • This will be the first time the countries play each other in Madrid since some of England’s black players were subjected to racist abuse in a match at the Santiago Bernabéu in 2004.

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente says "there is no racism in Spain" after Thomas Tuchel issued a warning to his England players before Sunday's Nations League meeting in Madrid.

Additional details
  • Luis de la Fuente has won the European Championship and World Cup as coach (Javier SORIANO) Luis de la Fuente insisted on Saturday Spain did not have a racism problem ahead of his team's Nations League showdown with England despite an upcoming stadium punishment for anti-Muslim chanting earlier this year.
  • England players faced racist abuse during a game in the Spanish capital in 2004, while La Roja will have to play their next home friendly with a reduced capacity as a punishment for supporters singing a discriminatory chant about Muslims during a fixture against Egypt in March.
  • Numerous other incidents of racist abuse at Spanish football matches -- most notably those targeting Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior -- have occurred in Spain in recent years.
  • De la Fuente added he was not sure whether star attacker Lamine Yamal, who missed Spain's win over the Czech Republic on Thursday with a knee problem, would start the match.
  • I'm not sure if he can manage a full 90 minutes, but he is in perfect shape," said De la Fuente.

How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →

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Every article behind this summary — 3 articles from 3 outlets

Yahoo SportsNovember 14, 2026, 9:04 PM UTC → BBC SportNovember 14, 2026, 8:43 PM UTC → The Guardian SportNovember 14, 2026, 8:27 PM UTC →

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