Reports say Lamine Yamal's father spat at a café worker at Barcelona airport

The airport row

Cronica Global, a Spanish outlet, reported that Mounir Nasraoui, the 40-year-old father of Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal, became involved in a confrontation at Barcelona-El Prat airport on Monday, 26 October. The incident took place in a café in the terminal shortly before he was due to fly to London for the Ballon d'Or ceremony. According to witness accounts cited by the outlet, the trouble started when he hung his jacket in a spot where clothing was not allowed, and a female café employee asked him to move it. He allegedly responded with insults and then spat in her face.

A passer-by who tried to intervene was reportedly struck by Nasraoui, who then grabbed a chair and threatened to throw it. Guardia Civil officers were called to the scene and calmed the situation. The reports say Nasraoui still boarded the flight to London.

What remains unconfirmed

The allegations have not been confirmed by the authorities. Watson reported that neither the Guardia Civil nor Nasraoui had made any public comment on the claims. The account rests on the eyewitness testimony that Cronica Global gathered, and none of the articles reports any charge against him. A message Nasraoui published on Instagram, reported on 28 October, showed him in a black and white photo beside Barcelona president Joan Laporta. The caption said he needed help as a person and a human being, but it gave no reason and did not say whether the request involved the club.

A second episode in London

Fanpage described a separate incident on Monday evening, outside the London theatre where the Ballon d'Or ceremony had just ended. A Russian journalist approached to congratulate Yamal on his third-place finish and to film the moment. Nasraoui, who was smoking at the time, reportedly pushed the journalist away with his hand. As with the airport account, no official statement on this episode appears in the articles.

Background and sporting context

Several articles recall earlier cases involving Nasraoui. SAPO reported that in August 2024 he was seriously stabbed in a car park in the Rocafonda district of Mataro, an attack it linked to a settling of scores after a neighbourhood brawl that led to several arrests. The same outlet reported that in May 2023 he was convicted of bodily offences and property damage after insults, assaults and the destruction of material at an election tent of the Vox party. On the sporting side, Yamal finished third in the Ballon d'Or vote behind Harry Kane and Mbappe, and again won the Kopa Trophy for the best under-21 player.