The Spanish TV network Movistar Plus+ apologized on Thursday for a regrettable comment regarding soccer player Lamine Yamal, which caused Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain to boycott interviews after their Champions League game.
Players from both teams refused to speak with reporters from the pay TV channel following Barcelona’s 3-2 victory at PSG on Wednesday.
The protest ensued after former Atlético Madrid player and assistant coach Germán “Mono” Burgos remarked that Barcelona’s Yamal could be working “at a traffic light” if things didn’t go well for him in soccer.
These comments were made while showing footage of the 16-year-old Yamal playing with a soccer ball before the Paris match.
Burgos later issued an apology, stating that he didn’t mean to offend Yamal and that he intended to praise the player’s skills through humor. He clarified that his remark was not about ethnicity or social status.
In response, Movistar released a statement expressing condemnation of any form of discrimination and promising to prevent such comments in the future through appropriate measures.
