The Spanish government, La Liga and Real Madrid issued a strong response on Sunday following reports of racist insults allegedly directed at Barcelona players during Saturday's match at the Bernabeu Stadium.
Spanish media revealed that 17-year-old Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal, who has Equatorial Guinean and Moroccan roots, was among those targeted with xenophobic and racist abuse during El Clasico, in which Barcelona triumphed over their archrivals Real Madrid 4-0, with Yamal contributing to the scoreline.
The Spanish Supreme Sports Council (CSD) condemned the incidents and announced it would convene on Monday to address the matter. The State Commission Against Violence, Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Sports, along with the CSD, police, Civil Guard, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), La Liga and the State Attorney General's Office are involved in the response.
"La Liga will immediately report the racist insults and gestures received by Barcelona players to the Hate Crimes Section of the National Police Information Brigade, as well as inform the Coordinating Prosecutor of the Hate Crimes and Discrimination Unit of the State Attorney General's Office," La Liga said in a statement.
"La Liga vehemently condemns the incidents at the Santiago Bernabeu and remains firm in its commitment to eradicate any kind of racist behavior and hatred inside and outside stadiums."
Investigation
Real Madrid said it had opened an investigation to identify the perpetrators so that action can be taken.
"Real Madrid strongly condemns any behavior involving racism, xenophobia or violence in football and sport, and deeply regrets the insults that a few fans uttered last night in one of the corners of the stadium," the club said in a statement.
Barcelona did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Spain's migration minister, Elma Saiz, also condemned the incident.
"We will not allow aggressions that we do not tolerate in other spaces to become normalized in sports," she said in a statement.
The RFEF said it is enforcing a zero-tolerance policy on racist abuse and violence in stadiums, calling it a "social scourge."
"The RFEF will work with all the people and institutions that are part of sport and society to put an end to violence and insults in sports venues and events," the RFEF said.
The RFEF and La Liga have taken steps to tackle an increase in racist abuse, including measures such as partial stadium closures.
Four people were arrested and questioned in Spain on Thursday on suspicion of conducting an online hate campaign encouraging fans to racially abuse Real Madrid's Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr. in the buildup to their match against Atletico Madrid last month.
In June, the Magistrate's Court of Valencia issued the first conviction for racist insults in a football stadium in Spain following an investigation into racial slurs directed at Vinicius at Mestalla Stadium.
Vinicius, who has emerged as a prominent figure in the fight against racism in both Spain and world football after suffering multiple instances of racist abuse over the past two years, showed his support for the Barcelona players.
"There is no place for these criminals in our society," he said of the abusers. "I know that Madrid and the police will do things to identify and punish the guilty."