Spanish Government open investigation into Lamine Yamal’s 18th birthday party | OneFootball

Barcelona and Spain star Lamine Yamal is facing potential legal trouble, beyond enormous reputational damage, following the events of his 18th birthday party. The teenage forward turned 18 over the weekend, and held a 250-person celebration on Saturday night in a seaside town down the coast from Barcelona.

The celebrations took place on Saturday night, the day before Barcelona’s players were due back at the training ground for preseason tests. Much of the squad reportedly left the events early, but the celebrity-filled event is facing major scrutiny. The Association of Achondroplasia and Other Skeletal Dysplasias with Dwarfism (ADEE) have announced that they will be taking legal action against Lamine Yamal after people with dwarfism were reportedly hired as entertainment for the event, which is illegal in Spain. Lamine Yamal published a video from the event on his social media on Monday afternoon.

Spanish Government request investigation into party

Now the Spanish Government have requested an investigation into event from the public prosecutor, following the ADEE announcement. As per Marca, the Ministry of Social Rights has communicated the request to the Office for the Struggle against Hate Crimes too, with the investigation to determine whether Lamine Yamal committed an infraction against the disability law, which prohibits the denigration or mockery of differently abled people for entertainment.

Image via IG / Peter Dinklage

The Director General of Disability Jesus Martin has explained that they have requested clarification of whether people with dwarfism were denigrated. Serious infractions have been punished with fines between €600k and €1m.

Lamine Yamal’s message to Peter Dinklage

It has not gone unnoticed that on Saturday night Lamine Yamal also told actor Peter Dinklage to check his private messages via a comment on Instagram too. Dinklage, 56, is one of the most famous examples of someone with dwarfism, having played a starring role in global franchise Game of Thrones, amid a storied acting career.

However there is some doubt over the veracity of this incident. The Dinklage account is not a fan page, while there is no sign of the Lamine Yamal comment, with some suggesting he deleted the commment, and others claiming it was fake.

Barcelona are yet to comment on the incident, and Lamine Yamal returned to training on Sunday. However he could be facing serious legal trouble if indeed he is guilty of what the ADEE have accused him of.