A simple 0-0 draw against Egypt could have huge ramifications for the Spanish national team.
The match saw Spanish fans at Espanyol’s stadium make racist chants against the opposition and they have been condemned by the president of the football federation.
There was also a heated moment as former Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia made his first senior national appearance as a substitute for David Raya.
Garcia left Espanyol for arch rivals Barcelona in the summer and was already the subject of rat posters during a LaLiga meetings.
This time he was booed by the home fans, but many also cheered with Barca fans travelling for the clash.
However, one journalist saw the decision to debut Garcia at his old club as provocative by coach Luis de la Fuente and told him with brutal consequences.
A long-winded question at the conference went: “Obviously, first of all, you’re the coach – you can call up whoever you want, you can give debuts whenever you want.
“But you know that debuting Joan García here wasn’t a neutral decision. It was already mentioned beforehand, and for many people, you’ve mocked the Espanyol fans.
“What you did feels like a mockery to many, because you could have given him his debut at another time, in another setting – wherever you wanted.
“You brought four goalkeepers for two friendlies, which is completely incomprehensible, and you chose to debut him here, precisely here.
“Also, I understand that you cared about the atmosphere around the match, and that atmosphere has changed—there’s been a kind of plebiscite, a big division of opinions. Why did you do this? Why?”
A furious De la Fuente responded: “Honestly, I’m not going to answer that. The question answers itself.”
The journalist then tried to explain before the coach added: “It answers itself. Really.
“Phenomenal. My God.
“Where I’m from, we’d call that ‘Maribel-level’ (stupid).”
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