Cameras from the programme “El Día Después” captured an exchange not shown during the live broadcast of Barcelona’s match against Getafe, in which Morocco defender Abdelkabir Abqar addressed Lamine Yamal, the Barcelona and Spain forward, repeatedly telling him: “Lamine, Lamine, you want to play for Morocco”.
Abqar repeats to Yamal that he wants to represent Morocco
The incident took place during the match played on Saturday 10 October 2026 at Spotify Camp Nou, in the eighth round of La Liga. The footage showed Abqar approaching Yamal as several Barcelona players protested a decision by referee Jesús Gil Manzano. The incident began after a collision between Anthony Gordon, Barcelona’s forward, and David Soria, Getafe’s goalkeeper, near the penalty area.
The referee awarded a foul to the goalkeeper, while the Catalan side’s players believed the decision should have gone the other way, prompting several of them to protest. Yamal was among those objecting and was shown in the footage telling the referee: “But he shot the ball in the end,” repeating the phrase as he tried to explain his view that the attack should have continued.
At that point, Abqar entered the scene and began calling out to the Spain player while referring to Morocco. The Morocco defender repeated his words several times, saying: “Lamine, Lamine, you want to play for Morocco... Lamine, you want that,” before continuing to walk behind Yamal as he protested.
The Barcelona player tried to move away from him and clear a path with his arm. The footage did not show him responding directly to Abqar verbally, and he left the area of the protest after the referee stood by his decision. Abqar came on in the 37th minute for his team-mate Zaid Romero, according to the official match data.
Barcelona settle the match with three goals
The match ended in a 3-0 victory for Barcelona, with goals from Anthony Gordon in the second minute, Gabriel Jesus in the 30th minute and Jules Koundé in the 73rd minute. Yamal contributed to the third goal by sending in a cross that Koundé turned into the net. The victory gave Barcelona eight consecutive wins since the start of the 2026-2027 season, matching their best start to a La Liga campaign, previously recorded in the 2013-2014 season.
Abqar’s words revived the issue of Yamal’s decision to represent Spain rather than Morocco at international level. The player previously said in an interview that he had not hesitated when making his decision, and said during the 2026 World Cup that he did not regret his choice and would make the same decision again.
Data from the Spanish Football Federation show that, as of 13 October 2026, Yamal had made 37 international appearances for Spain and scored 11 goals. Abqar is a Morocco international defender who joined Getafe from Deportivo Alavés and represents the Madrid side in La Liga.
