Former Barcelona player Lilian Thuram has been committed to the fight against racism for many years. Last Friday, he participated in the speeches of the Barcelona Foundation's "Barça Activa't" and "Esport al Barri" projects. The Frenchman came to Camp Nou to emphasize topics such as cultural diversity, racism, sexism and homophobia.
Over the years, Thuram has collaborated with the Barcelona Foundation through the "Anti-Racism Education Foundation", which aims to strengthen the training and critical perspective of professionals working with children and adolescents from different backgrounds. By participating in this speech, Thuram contributed his professional and firm insights to the anti-racism struggle. In his speech, Thuram emphasized the importance of Yamal for achieving real change in the fight against racism and insisted on the importance of speaking out to condemn such incidents.
“It is a fortune to have a player like Yamal to change the status quo of racial discrimination. His image is everywhere, and people love the way he plays. The fact that he plays for Barcelona is a very positive thing for opposing racism and striving for equality. Players need to speak out against racism; this is very important, and they should not stay silent. I think now in Europe, we have many players who are not afraid to speak the truth. There are many people making negative comments on Vinícius or Yamal's social media, but there are also many people who love these players, and we take this opportunity to discuss the issue of racism in sports.”
After delivering the speech to the educators of the Barcelona Foundation, Thuram also took the opportunity to visit Camp Nou and praised it as a "treasure". Accompanied by the project construction technicians, the Frenchman even joked that he would love to play in this stadium again.
