A disturbing report has revealed the scale of abuse faced by Lamine Yamar, highlighting the dark side of one of Barcelona’s brightest stars’ now-famous reputation.
The teenage forward was said to be responsible for 6% of all sports-related hate messages on social media in November.
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The data comes from the Spanish Observatory of Racism and Xenophobia (Oberaxe) (h/t AS), which monitors online racism and xenophobia.
In November alone, the organization detected a total of 39,054 racist or xenophobic messages on social media platforms.
51% of these were removed, which is the highest removal rate recorded for any month to date, even surpassing July.
The numbers for the sport itself are staggering
Despite the improvements, these numbers are still shocking, and Yamal’s name is disturbingly at the center of them.
That’s because the Barcelona winger became the most attacked figure in sport during that period.
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The surge in abuse comes after a controversial incident involving Spain’s Royal Football Association.
Ramin Yamal is in the headlines again. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
On November 11, Yamal experienced the so-called “ “An invasive radiofrequency procedure to treat vaginal discomfort” without the prior knowledge of the Federation.
The decision sparked an immediate debate that quickly spiraled into something much uglier online.
In the days that followed, social media platforms were flooded with racist messages directed at Yamal, including derogatory comparisons to animals.
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Despite his age and the medical nature of his condition, the scale and intensity of the abuse made him the primary focus of hate content in sports that month.
Oberaxe’s latest monthly monitoring announcement also details data for November.
With the addition of these 39,054 messages, the total number of racist or xenophobic posts detected on social media has now reached 779,198.
While the increase in content removal rates is seen as a step forward, the overall numbers show how persistent and widespread the problem remains.
