Movistar fires Burgos after controversial comment about Yamal

The Spanish television channel Movistar Plus+ announced on Thursday the end of its collaboration with Germán Burgos, following a controversial comment by the former assistant coach of Atlético Madrid about Lamine Yamal that prompted a boycott by Barcelona and PSG on Wednesday.

The controversy arose after the commentator said, "If football doesn't work out for him, he could end up working in traffic," while the 16-year-old Barcelona player was performing tricks during the warm-up for the match against the French champions in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

These words were deemed racist and elitist by both clubs, who refused to speak to the channel at the end of the match, leading Movistar to make the decision to sever ties with the Argentine coach.

Even before this decision was made public, Burgos, who had already apologized for his comment live on air to the broadcaster, furthered his statement with a post on social media, in which he argued that he never intended to be racist towards the player.

"I make this statement to reiterate my apologies for my words on yesterday's program. It was not my intention to hurt Lamine Yamal in any way, the people of Barcelona, the players, UEFA, or the Movistar Plus+ platform, where I work. In making my comment, I chose to play with his quality and highlight his virtues, never focusing on ethnicity or social class.

After so many years in football, it moves me to see young academy players. I particularly admire the quantity of new talents at Barça because I believe that quality always triumphs in the end. I am a coach who advocates for youth development, and in every team I have been in, I have made an effort to bring young players to train with the first team," he emphasized.

"I apologize to all those who were offended by my comment. My intention was not to abandon Lamine Yamal, quite the opposite. Football brings everything and everyone together, which is why it is the best sport, as it does not discriminate based on gender, race, religion, disability, age, or sexual orientation. That's what I believe in! See you in football," he concluded.

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