Spanish journalist claims Barcelona connection is driving Lamine Yamal controversy with national team: ‘If a row breaks out’

Spanish journalist claims Barcelona connection is driving Lamine Yamal controversy with national team: ‘If a row breaks out’ The debate surrounding Lamine Yamal’s absence from Spain’s opening international fixture has exposed another familiar tension between club football and the national team.  While Luis de la Fuente has defended the decision to keep the Barcelona forward in Spain for medical treatment, Radio MARCA journalist David Sanchez believes the reaction says more about Barcelona’s place in Spanish football than the player’s actual circumstances. The journalist backed the national team manager and argued that developments involving Barcelona players routinely attract controversy.  His intervention comes after criticism of the decision to delay Yamal’s arrival at the national team camp, with suggestions that the teenager was receiving preferential treatment, something that De la Fuente denied. Yamal’s fitness decision becomes a debate about Barcelona Notably, the issue was Yamal’s knee condition following Barcelona’s victory over Atletico Madrid.  Spain’s medical staff assessed the situation and agreed that the forward should remain in Barcelona rather than travel to Prague for the Nations League meeting with the Czech Republic. De la Fuente subsequently explained that Yamal had inflammation and fluid in his right knee and that he could join the squad later. David Sanchez has backed Spain coach Luis de la Fuente. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) That explanation did not prevent questions about whether Barcelona’s biggest young star was being treated differently. Sanchez believes the club’s identity has become central to the reaction. “If a row breaks out, if there’s a controversy in the national team surrounding Lamine Yamal, it’s not because he’s the best player in the squad; it’s, quite simply, because Lamine Yamal plays for Barcelona,” he asserted. David Sanchez questions the reaction to Spain’s Barcelona players Sanchez also pointed to what he considers a recurring pattern whenever Barcelona players become involved in national team discussions. “For a long time now, the moment there is the slightest bit of news involving a Barça player in the national team, there is controversy, there is a fuss, and there is debate.” He was equally supportive of De la Fuente’s response to the accusations. “Don Luis de la Fuente has got angry – and rightly so – over the comments suggesting that Lamine Yamal is receiving preferential treatment,” he added. Lamine Yamal will not play against the Czech Republic. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) The journalist then acknowledged that Yamal’s importance could justify special consideration, although he stopped short of claiming that such privileges were actually being granted. “I don’t know if he does – it doesn’t seem so – but even if he did, it wouldn’t be out of the question, given that Lamine Yamal is, by far, the biggest star in the Spanish national football team.” De la Fuente’s handling of Yamal receives backing For Sanchez, the difference is between protecting an important player’s fitness and granting him preferential treatment.  He wants the discussion to end rather than overshadow Spain’s preparations for England. “Well done to Luis de la Fuente for settling the matter. Lamine Yamal wasn’t fit to play in the first match.  “If he’s fit for the second – which it looks like he will be – he’ll play against England. Let’s not talk about it any more,” he concluded.