Rajoy Claims French Football Team Has No French Players; Sanchez and French Officials Condemn Remark

Mariano Rajoy wrote in an opinion piece published Sunday that the French national football team had no French players. The piece appeared in the Spanish online news site El Debate ahead of Spain's scheduled FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinal against France on Tuesday. Spain's current Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned the remark as xenophobic.

"There are those who still measure belonging by surname, place of birth, or skin colour. Others measure it by our roots in a country and our will to contribute to it," Sanchez wrote on X. "Spain belongs to those who love it and work for it.

France's embassy in Madrid posted that all 26 players on the French team are French, with 23 born in France and the three born abroad also French. The statement was issued July 12, 2026. French politicians denounced the comment.

Anti-discrimination minister Aurore Berge said it was time they stopped and that sport becomes sport again, a place where people are judged on talent and by no other criteria. Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel compared the comment to remarks by Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla after Paraguay's elimination by France.

"They just can't stop themselves from slinging this disgusting racism," Roussel said.

French Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure wrote on X that France has no skin colour or religion. " Rajoy was ousted after a motion of no confidence vote in 2018. The France team are favourites to win the World Cup.