spain

Spain sanctioned by FIFA after incidents at Espanyol’s stadium in Barcelona, which staged the friendly with Egypt.

Spain have ‌‌‌‌been fined $20,000 and ordered to partially close their stadium ⁠⁠⁠⁠for their ⁠⁠⁠⁠next friendly after supporters twice chanted Islamophobic slogans during the game against Egypt in March, FIFA said ⁠⁠⁠⁠in a statement.

The sanctions relate to incidents at the RCDE Stadium near Barcelona, home of LaLiga club Espanyol, ⁠⁠⁠⁠where some Spain fans chanted, “Who doesn’t jump is a Muslim” during a World Cup warm-up match which ended in a 0-0 draw.

After the second occurrence of the chant, the stadium announcer ‌‌‌‌issued a warning and the scoreboard displayed a message against discriminatory behaviour.

Spain winger Lamine Yamal, who is Muslim, condemned the chants at the time, describing them as disrespectful and intolerable and calling those responsible “ignorant and racist”.

Spanish police launched an investigation the following day, while world governing ⁠⁠⁠⁠body FIFA later started disciplinary proceedings against ⁠⁠⁠⁠the Spanish football federation (RFEF).

It argued that the word ‘Muslim’ was “neither insulting nor pejorative”, adding that the fans’ conduct should be assessed under FIFA’s Article 17, ⁠⁠⁠⁠which covers political, ideological, religious or offensive messages, rather than Article 15, which deals ⁠⁠⁠⁠with discrimination and racist abuse.

However, FIFA’s disciplinary ⁠⁠⁠⁠committee rejected that argument, saying Article 15 does not require the explicit use of a slur and that a term can be discriminatory when ‌‌‌‌used in context as “an insult, taunt, or marker of inferiority”.

FIFA fined the RFEF and ordered the closure of at least ‌‌‌‌15% ‌‌‌‌of available seats for Spain’s next friendly.

Al Jazeera has contacted the RFEF for comment.

SPAIN has long reigned as the most popular holiday destination for Brits – but a cheaper alternative is set to rival it, according to easyJet.

Destinations across North Africa are seeing a huge boom in bookings, as holidaymakers look for better value holidays.

North African holiday destinations include Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia – which all offer great winter sun options as well.

EasyJet holidays CEO Garry Wilson said at the recent ABTA convention in Madeira: “When we look at demand for next year, places like North Africa, we will see that continue to grow in popularity. 

“Spain has been a bit overheated and we will see capacity demand slow down a bit.”

Luxury five star hotels are much cheaper across North Africa compared to mainland Europe.

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For example, a five-star, all-inclusive week in Egypt can be found for under £450 each in November with loveholidays – the same in Spain is over £1,000.

Tunisia is even cheaper, with five star, all inclusive breaks just £249pp each in November for seven nights, while Morocco is around £509pp.

The Sun’s Head of Travel Lisa Minot explained further: “Holidaymakers looking for the best value this winter and into next summer should be honing in on the emerging – and wallet-friendly – North African destinations of Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt.

“With the number of flights from the UK more than doubling since 2019, they have become a serious contender to our traditional Spanish favourites.

“Now tour operators are joining the fray with easyJet Holidays, TUI and the UK’s largest tour operator Jet2 all offering even greater choice – at very competitive prices.”

She added that Brits are “recognising the value they offer as the cost of living crisis continues to hit family budgets,” which is despite the conflict in the Middle East.

Lisa continued: “I saw for myself the premium offering in Marsa Alam on a trip in February and holiday prices for this winter to the Red Sea resort are lower than before the escalating tensions.”

Egypt recently announced they had welcomed a record 14.4million international tourists in 2026, an increase of four per cent compared to last year.

With a target of 30million by 2030, hotel capacity is set to double, with plans for 35,000 extra hotel rooms.

When it comes to Morocco, not only was Fez named a trending destination for 2027 by Skyscanner, but Rabat was named a top place to go next year by Lonely Planet.

EasyJet, Ryanair and TUI have all launched new flights to Morocco this year too.

And a new study by TravelSupermarket found that Tunisia holidays have dropped in price compared to last year.

Jet2 is launching more holiday packages to Tunisia next year, after restarting routes from the UK this summer.

BRITS could face hefty fines if caught smoking, or playing loud music at one popular holiday spot.

In some cases, the penalty could be as much as £2,500.

The area of La Laguna in Tenerife, has approved new rules banning smoking, camping, overnight stays and disruptive music on its beaches and natural swimming pools.

The announcement was made on October 7 and has been put in place to protect the coastline.

Under the new rules, beaches within the areas and natural pools are now smoke-free.

It also stops visitors from leaving rubbish behind including soap and shampoo in public showers.

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Unless there’s a a special permitted event, beachgoers are banned from playing loud music or general noise that disturbs those around them.

The new rules also state that there is a ban on camping and overnight stays on the beaches.

Within the area of La Laguna, the coastal areas where these rules have been enforced include Bajamar, Punta del Hidalgo, Jover and La Barranquera.

While there is a maximum fine of €3,000 (£2,500), it does not apply to every beach.

The amount also depends on the offence with those deemed minor having fines of €300 (£254).

In summer 2026, lots of beaches and hotels in Tenerife put rules in place to stop tourists reserving loungers and sand space with a towel.

Tourists could see their belongings confiscated and be fined up to €3,000.

It comes after strict rules were put in place across Spain for summer 2026.

A string of mazy runs down Barcelona’s right flank, two goal assists within three minutes, and a player of the match award cap off yet another impressive night in European football; Lamine Yamal continues to rack up remarkable statistics and mesmerising performances eight weeks into the club football season.

While this isn’t Yamal’s breakthrough year by any means – the Spanish forward first burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old in the 2023-24 season – his consistency for both club and country in the past eight weeks has led to comparisons with some of the greatest prodigies of recent years.

Since returning from the FIFA World Cup as a champion, Yamal has enjoyed scintillating form with the Catalan side.

Across the eight match weeks in club football, the 19-year-old has scored eight goals and provided nine assists in his 10 matches in all competitions for Barcelona, bringing his total number of goal contributions to an impressive 17.

All-time Barcelona and Argentina great Lionel Messi had 14 goal contributions – eight goals and six assists – to his name in the 2008-09 season, when he won his first Ballon d’Or award as a 19-year-old.

Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal vs Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe

Yamal has made no secret of his desire to win the award in 11 days, but he will face stiff competition from French star Kylian Mbappe and England captain Harry Kane.

Mbappe, who has broken goal-scoring records of his own, leads the attack at Real Madrid – Barcelona’s fiercest rivals and the undeniable kings of European football.

While Real have not won the Champions League since the 2023-24 season, which brought their record-extending 15th trophy, Mbappe helped them beat Italian giants Inter Milan in their first match last month.

Before joining Real in 2024, Mbappe was on a goal-scoring spree with French champions Paris Saint-Germain. He joined the club as an 18-year-old in 2017 and enjoyed great success a year later.

As a then-19-year-old, Mbappe scored 12 goals and made four assists in his first 10 games, bringing his goal contribution to 16 – one behind Yamal’s current record after the same number of matches.

The master Messi vs apprentice Yamal?

While comparisons between Yamal’s overall career with Messi’s would be grossly unfair, the Spaniard is following in his club legend’s footsteps.

Both players enjoy the unique statistic of having scored braces in their first five La Liga games. Messi’s came as a 25-year-old in the 2012-13 season, while Yamal has achieved the same feat this season.

In April 2007, Messi scored his famous solo goal against Getafe, dribbling from his own half past five players as Camp Nou watched in awe.

Three months later, Lamine Yamal was born, and not long after, Messi was seen with baby Yamal in a photo that went viral this year.

The hype reached fever pitch during the World Cup as a young Messi bathed baby Yamal during a TV commercial. At first, many thought it was an AI-generated image, but it’s indeed real and dates back to 2007.

During a UNICEF fundraising shoot at Camp Nou stadium, a 20-year-old Messi met Yamal, who was only five months old at the time.

The two Barcelona stars faced off in the World Cup final on July 19, with the Argentinian walking away in tears as Yamal’s Spain lifted the trophy, but not before they exchanged a warm embrace.

Yamal later revealed what he said to Messi on the pitch in New York.

“I said thank you for everything you gave football,” Yamal told a British newspaper.

Before the final, much of the attention had centred on the battle between 39-year-old Messi and 19-year-old Yamal, with the match likened to a master vs apprentice clash.

Nineteen years on from that iconic photo, Yamal is already chasing Messi’s Barcelona milestones. Here’s how old each of them was when they played their 150th game for the club.

Barcelona boss says ‘Everyone’s watching Lamine’

During the current season, Yamal’s incredible goal tally overshadows that of three other La Liga teams.

His seven individual goals in the league are more than what Valencia (six), Getafe (four) and Malaga (four) have managed as teams.

The forward’s form and skills are not lost on his manager, Hansi Flick.

The Barcelona boss heaped praise on his number 10 after the 4-1 win over Galatasaray in Istanbul.

“When you see the chances Lamine creates in every training session, it’s the same in matches. I have a lot of top-quality players. Everyone’s watching Lamine – that’s only natural.”

“It’s incredible to have players like that; he’s turned the game around for us.”

Jose Mourinho enjoyed a Roma reunion to remember as Real Madrid completed an astonishing comeback by scoring three late goals to claim a 4-3 away win in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Marten de Roon gave the hosts a deserved opener before Kylian Mbappe struck back on his 100th Champions League appearance to level the scores at the break.

Two Donyell Malen strikes in the space of six minutes early in the second half seemed to take the game away from the 15-time European champions as Roma ran rampant.

But Real scored three goals in the space of seven minutes late on, all stemming from corners, to turn the game on its head as Carlos Espi, Endrick and ex-Roma defender Antonio Rudiger struck at a stunned Stadio Olimpico.

Mourinho was a popular figure, leading Roma to the UEFA Conference League title and an Europa League final during two-and-a-half years in charge.

The home crowd honoured the Portuguese with banners and chants in Roma’s first home Champions League match in more than seven years, and the hosts started strongly as Mario Hermoso forced Thibaut Courtois into a flying fingertip save.

Roma took a deserved lead when De Roon swept a shot past Courtois from 25 yards in the 20th minute, and almost doubled it when Malen’s powerful shot squirmed under Courtois before being plucked off the line.

However, one costly moment of switching off proved enough to send them back to square one within five minutes of the opener being scored.

Hermoso misjudged an interception to allow Mbappe a clear run at goal, and the French striker’s deflected shot flew into the roof of the net to level the scores with Real’s first meaningful chance of the game.

Mbappe marked his Champions League centurion status – he is the youngest player to reach the milestone, aged 27 – with his 72nd tournament goal, one that moved him into the all-time top five ahead of Real legend Raul Gonzalez.

The equaliser appeared to subdue Roma and steady Mourinho’s men, who twice threatened a second before the break as Marc Cucurella and Jude Bellingham came close.

Roma take game to Real Madrid

But Roma boss Gian Piero Gasperini insisted pre-match that Roma would not compromise on their full-throttle style regardless of opposition, and he was true to his word as they came out firing after the break.

Roma quickly retook the lead when half-time substitute Rodrigo Mora fed the ball to Malen, who finished brilliantly by taking the ball in his stride with his first touch and lifting it over Courtois with his second.

Things got even better for the Italians just six minutes later when Malen raced onto a through ball to power home his second, given following a VAR review after initially being flagged for offside.

Real looked for a response as Mbappe twice tested Pierluigi Gollini, before having his second goal of the night ruled out for offside.

But set-pieces proved to be the key to unlock the Roma defence, as Espi tucked home a close-range rebound from a header to pull one back before Endrick powered home a header from another corner just two minutes later.

The final blow was struck by Rudiger in the 90th minute, the defender getting in front of his marker to guide home a close-range finish and complete an extraordinary turnaround.

The result leaves Real Madrid with six points from their opening two league phase matches, while Roma are on one point.

Shakhtar Donetsk beat AEK Athens in London debut

Nomadic Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk celebrated moving into their new Champions League “home” at Stamford Bridge by storming back to beat AEK Athens 3-1.

Fans of the club turned up in the thousands to support the team, who emerged from the tunnel draped in blue-and-yellow national flags.

The Greek side took the lead in the 28th minute through Lovro Majer but Pedrinho levelled confidently from the penalty spot just six minutes later.

With about 10 minutes of normal time to go, Vinicius Tobias found the net from a tight angle and substitute Gleiker Mendoza made the game safe, smashing home after cutting in from the left.

The result leaves Shakhtar on four points after two games, following a draw against PSV Eindhoven in their opening match in the league phase of the Champions League.

Giant-killers Bodo sink Dortmund in Champions League

Fredrik Sjovold’s 52nd-minute strike secured a 1-0 victory for Bodo/Glimt over Borussia Dortmund, extending the Norwegian side’s remarkable home record against Europe’s elite.

Bodo were a cut above the 2024 Champions League runners-up and took the lead through Sjovold just after the break.

Dortmund improved in the final half hour but were unable to strike back, despite a late chance for Felix Nmecha.

Dortmund join Manchester City, Inter Milan and Sporting as recent big-name scalps on the artificial turf of Bodo’s Aspmyra stadium.

Aston Villa put six past Fenerbahce in record rout

Aston Villa recorded their biggest ever European victory as Nicolas Jackson inspired a 6-0 rout of Fenerbahce.

Unai Emery’s side won at Villa Park for the first time this season to maintain their 100 percent start in Europe’s elite club competition.

Swiss forward Johan Manzambi put Villa in front, and Jackson was on target twice before the interval.

Ross Barkley scored twice in the second half before Tammy Abraham’s late strike completed the rout.

Vinicius will miss El Clasico on October 25, the first of his four-match ban for pulling Saliba’s hair in La Liga.

Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior will miss the upcoming match against Barcelona in the Spanish league after being issued a four-match suspension for pulling an opponent’s hair during a La Liga game last week.

The Brazilian forward will miss Madrid’s next four league fixtures, including the highly anticipated October 25 El Clasico against fierce rivals and league champions Barcelona.

The Spanish federation’s disciplinary committee announced the ban on Wednesday after Vinicius received the red card against Villarreal last week.

The number seven thought he had scored Real’s second goal in the match on Saturday, but his effort was disallowed after a video assistant referee (VAR) review found he should be dismissed for pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair in the build-up.

The Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee confirmed the Brazilian will be banned for several matches, including the visit to face league leaders Barca, because of both the red card and his subsequent protests.

After the match, Vinicius, ⁠⁠⁠⁠who came on in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠52nd minute and was red-carded 20 minutes later, posted on social media, saying, “sorry to the team and the ⁠⁠⁠⁠fans”.

Vinicius was celebrating after scoring when referee Isidro Diaz de Mera was called by the VAR to review the moments before his goal. The referee waved off the goal and pulled out a red card for Vinicius, who also goes by his nickname Vini Jr.

When he thought Vinicius had doubled the lead, Real manager Jose Mourinho ran to join the celebrations with his players.

But moments later, Vinicius was left livid by the referee’s decision. He screamed at Diaz de Mera while his teammates tried to calm him down as he left the field.

Without a quick deal to move fertiliser through the strait, agricultural productivity would ‘significantly drop’.

A senior United Nations official has warned that parts of Asia and Africa could face a food security crisis unless Iran and the United States quickly agree on a UN-backed plan to move fertiliser through the embattled Strait of Hormuz.

UN ⁠Under-Secretary-General Jorge Moreira da Silva said on Wednesday that it was “absolutely critical” that the two countries agree to the proposal within weeks as planting season approaches. It calls for a UN-staffed coordination centre in Oman to help register vessels and oversee their safe passage in the waterway, through which a large portion of key global fertiliser inputs traditionally flow.

“If we miss that planting season, the productivity of agriculture would significantly drop and the impact on prices will significantly increase,” Moreira da Silva told Reuters on the sidelines of International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Bangkok, Thailand.

Farmers operate strict crop calendars, and even slight delays could severely affect yield.

‘Negligible’ fertiliser shipments

Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran, with Iran targeting vessels in the strait and the US and Iran exchanging fire in and around the waterway.

The disruption has hit global supplies of urea, the world’s most widely used nitrogen fertiliser, as well as seaborne sulphur, a key input. Before the war, roughly a third of global urea shipments and nearly half of seaborne sulphur passed through the strait.

Although some ships have been able to sail through amid the crisis, fertiliser products have made up a “very negligible” share of moving cargo, according to the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute.

Moreira da Silva said the UN-backed fertiliser mechanism, drawn up in March, could be activated within seven to 10 days if both Iran and the US agree.

Under the plan, UN monitors would work alongside local authorities at Gulf ports to verify cargo loading. Ships would be tracked during transit, and additional inspections could ⁠be carried out if countries raised concerns about a vessel or its cargo, said Moreira da Silva. He did not say why the US and Iran have not yet agreed.

The passage of only five vessels per day through the Strait of Hormuz could keep fertiliser supplies flowing to countries in critical need, he added.

‘Let us do our job’

The UN mechanism could work alongside negotiations for a “comprehensive deal” to restore freedom of navigation in the strait, Moreira da Silva said.

Iran and the US have exchanged proposals through intermediaries since a June interim ceasefire collapsed. Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz have stalled over Tehran’s conditions and Washington’s insistence on addressing Iran’s nuclear programme from the outset.

“What we are telling them is, while you continue your discussions towards a comprehensive deal, let us work, let us do our job,” said Moreira da Silva.

His plea comes amid growing concern that fertiliser shortages could hit global food supplies.

In May, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization warned that fertiliser scarcity could tighten food supplies from late 2026 into 2027, and would likely hit countries facing climate or other crises much harder.

In South Asia, where most rely on imported fertiliser, farmers are already struggling because of soaring costs and fertiliser scarcity. On Wednesday, farmers in Spain took to the streets to protest rising production costs amid high oil and fertiliser prices.

A NEW Spanish tourist tax being introduced this year is set to cause a hike in holiday costs.

The rule, which will be rolled out from the start of December, could see some holidaymakers slapped with an extra fee.

Tourists visiting Spain and the Canary Islands after December 1st, 2026, may have to pay an extra new charge if they opt for self-catering accommodation.

Those staying in apartments or villas booked via the likes of Airbnb could end up shelling out for an additional 10 per cent in VAT.

The tax, brought in by the Spanish Government, applies to qualifying furnished holiday rentals in popular travel destinations such as Ibiza, Mallorca, Barcelona and the Canary Islands.

Tourist accommodation in Spain has previously been exempt from VAT payments.

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Any holiday home rented for 30 nights or fewer will be subject to the tax – unless the property is the landlord’s habitual home.

The government says that the VAT measure is being brought in to help combat the housing pressures faced by Spanish residents.

The Spanish property market is currently under strain due to the high amounts of apartments and houses being bought for short-term tourist use.

The new tax may not necessarily mean that tourists are forced to pay, though as it depends if the landlord of the holiday home decides to pay the additional VAT themselves.

Tourists are being urged to double check the price of bookings made for rental holiday homes before they pay.

Those booking accommodation that could be subject to the new tax should look carefully at the price breakdown of bookings

It is wise to check whether any additional VAT is included in the cost or whether paying it on top of the original booking will be a requirement.