A four-word phrase has ignited an intense political and media row in Spain and France, occurring just days before the two national sides are scheduled to meet in a World Cup semi-final. The phrase, "that is, without the French," was used by former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in a column published in the outlet El Debate. The remark has been interpreted by politicians in both countries as being of a racist nature.
In his op-ed, titled "Hoy llegó el desquite" (Today payback arrived), the former leader of the conservative People's Party (PP) analyzed Belgium's elimination by La Roja and looked ahead to Spain's upcoming clash with France. Within the piece, he characterized the French national team as a rival "of the very highest level" and a "formidable opponent." However, he followed these descriptions with the contentious aside about a team "without Frenchmen." This comment was apparently an allusion to the fact that many players on the French squad have roots in former French colonies, and that some, such as Michael Olise and Marcus Thuram, were not born in France.
The initial reaction arrived from the Spanish government. Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez utilized the social network X to post a message stating that "Spain belongs to those who love it and work for it, not to those who disgrace it with xenophobic statements." He concluded his post by expressing a hope that "the best team win and may racism be defeated."
On Monday, People's Party spokesperson Borja Sémper attempted to downplay the controversy. He insisted the phrase was "sarcastic" and noted that, unlike the Socialist leader, his party wants Spain to win on Tuesday "even if they play worse" than their opponents. Sémper added, "We, unlike Mr Sánchez, want Spain to win in any way, shape or form."
Initially, individuals close to the former prime minister informed the daily newspaper El Mundo that there was "no ill intent" in his words, arguing that the controversy had been blown out of proportion. According to these sources, Rajoy considers the matter a "minor issue" and does not wish to be drawn into a political tussle. Later, the former leader, who served as head of the Spanish government between 2011 and 2018, took a firmer stance. In a statement to the same outlet, he declared, "I am not going to stoop to the level of certain members of the Spanish government."
Criticism also emerged from the political left. Podemos secretary for organisation Pablo Fernández branded the former PP leader's words "xenophobic" and "execrable," arguing that they fuel racist rhetoric. He stated, "We condemn and regret these xenophobic and racist statements by Mr Mariano Rajoy, who (…) will go down in history as a vile and thoroughgoing racist on the basis of comments like this."
The controversy reached French officials as well. Aurore Bergé, France's minister delegate for equality between women and men and the fight against discrimination, reacted on Sunday via social media. She stated that "these repeated racist excesses are intolerable. It is time they stopped and for sport to become sport again: a place where people are judged on their talent and on no other grounds." That same day, the national secretary of the French Communist Party, Fabien Roussel, demanded in a post on X that the former leader be "condemned." He compared the opinion piece to recent racist comments voiced in Paraguay by senator Celeste Amarilla against Les Bleus captain Kylian Mbappé.
The French Embassy in Spain responded to the controversy by emphasizing that every member of the squad holds French nationality. In a message posted on X, the embassy specified that 23 of the 26 players called up were born in France, while only three were born abroad: Brice Samba, born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the aforementioned Olise and Thuram, born in the United Kingdom and Italy, respectively. All of them, however, are French citizens.
The debate has drawn attention to the diverse composition of modern national teams, including Spain's own squad. Spain currently fields Aymeric Laporte, who was born in the French city of Agen. Another regular in La Roja squads in recent years, Robin Le Normand, was also born on French soil in the town of Pabu, though he was left out of Luis de la Fuente's list for the 2026 World Cup. Furthermore, two of the Spanish national team's stars, Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, have African roots. Yamal was born in Barcelona to a Moroccan father and an Equatoguinean mother, while Williams was born in Pamplona to parents from Ghana, the country for which his brother Iñaki Williams plays. In this summer's tournament, as many as 11 players and three coaches born in Spain have represented another national team.
