PSG and Barcelona boycott Movistar interviews after Lamine Yamal subject of racist comment | OneFootball

Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona both boycotted their post-match interviews with Spanish broadcaster Movistar after a racist remark, targeting Lamine Yamal (16), was made on air.

The comment was made in the pre-match coverage by Argentine manager Mono Burgos. “If [football] doesn’t go well for him, he’d find himself at a red light,” he said, laughing as he did so. Yamal comes from a poor part of Catalunya and Burgos’ comments were heavily criticised in Spain.

It was a sentence that also angered the two clubs participating in Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League quarter-final at the Parc des Princes. After Barcelona’s 3-2 victory over PSG, players and managers fulfilled their post-match media duties, but not to their fullest extent.

Speaking from the mixed zone, journalist Ricardo Sierra explained that Movistar had been informed that no PSG or Barcelona players would be giving the broadcaster any interviews in the wake of the comment. “They were extremely angry by a comment made on our channel,” said Sierra.

Burgos then attempted to apologise for the comment. “It was a comment that wasn’t meant to hurt anyone or anything like that. It’s something that we speak about in football. If anyone was offended, I publicly apologise. It wasn’t my intention. As time goes by, you have to adapt when you try and make jokes,” he said.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle