‘I’m afraid of the far right because it has no boundaries’ | Relief

After one of the most beautiful gestures of the season in San Mamés, when he walked up to a child and his father who were carrying a sign that read “We need more pandas” to give them his shirt and pose for a photo, Borja Iglesias looks at various current issues ( not only football) in an extensive interview with the publication Country. He does this in the middle of the national team’s break, already with four goals scored for the first nine days of the league (more than 450 minutes of play).

But beyond his numbers, he also stands out for his work off the field: ignoring criticism, she continues to paint her nails, gets wet in swamp themes and he managed to maintain the essence that shines through in the interviews. “We are in the process of showing ourselves more and more free as we are, but there is something to improve. It doesn’t matter to me if they leave 10 or 100 comments on social media, but if someone is suffering because they don’t have enough space because they feel judged or mistreated… Damn. we have a serious problem there,” he notes from Santiago, where he now resides.

While he admits that “there are patterns of behavior that tend to be racist and many dynamics that are set up in ways that sometimes we are not even aware of,” he adds: “What Vinicius means (when he talks about racism in Spain) sometimes this is the case They normalize situations in a football stadium that shouldn’t exist. It is important to indicate them and talk about them. This way they can be detected and changed.” He speaks similarly on political issues: “I want to defend principles such as respect, equality or the avoidance of abuse of power and hatred. I’m afraid of the far right because it has no boundaries. I don’t like that they don’t respect certain social values ​​or human rights. “I want those who vote to think not only about themselves, but also about their community and those who are suffering.”

He is not the first footballer – and certainly not the last – to take a stand on political issues: Mbappe took a stance against the far right midway through the EuroCup. Other players in the French national team, for example, chose not to position themselves. Borja Iglesias also expresses his opinion on this matter: “I understand that there are people who do not want to do this. But there are things that really affect me as a person, and for me these are more important than my profession. In the face of injustice, I take sides. “If something bothers me, I take a stand because I think it helps.”

Although Borja Iglesias shrugs off the criticism, he recalls what happened two years ago in Seville when LGBT-phobic stickers were posted on the outskirts of Benito Villamarín, Betis’ stadium: “What I’m not going to do is worry. about what people who spread hatred think about me. I don’t want everyone to like me. This is not the first or last time the striker has come under fire: a few years ago he was condemned for painting his nails. “Everyone needs to understand masculinity from their own perspective. Trying to do it and show it is good. Break stereotypes and deconstructing yourself is positive,” he adds.

The striker, who now combines his football career with occasional DJ gigs, At that time, he refused to return to the Spanish national team. football after what happened at the Women’s World Cup celebration when Luis Rubiales kissed Jenny Hermoso without her consent. This episode, now forgotten, marked the beginning of a new era in women’s football, as Borja Iglesias states: “Young girls now have super successful role models, which is great.”