'The less educated go down the racism path': Ademola Lookman

NEW DELHI: Ademola Lookman has echoed similar sentiments as Lamine Yamal. Yamal, the FC Barcelona youngster was outraged after Spanish fans resorted to Islamaphobic and xenophobic chants during the international friendly against Egypt in Barcelona. An angry Yamal expressed his disgust in an Instagram post. “I know the chant was directed at the opposing team and wasn’t personal against me, but as a Muslim, it’s still disrespectful and intolerable,” the teen star had posted.In an interaction with TOI ahead of Barca’s crucial La Liga clash against Atletico Madrid on Saturday night, Lookman agreed with Yamal and added that the unfortunate phenomenon wasn’t confined to Spain alone but prevalent worldwide. “It is evident everywhere in the world. People who are less educated decide to go down that route,” Atletico’s UK-born Nigerian winger said, “People need to be more educated and need to become more aware of people’s backgrounds and ethnicity.”Joining the Madrid club from Italy’s Atalanta in February, Lookman has already made an impact in Diego Simeone’s combative brigade. His last outing against Barcelona, in the Copa del Rey semifinal, endeared him to the Metropolitano faithful in double quick time. Lookman’s goal and an assist helped Atleti win 4-0 and reach the final for the first time since 2013.Relating to his period of initiation, Lookman said, “It’s obviously being adventurous taking on this new experience. It’s great to learn. It’s great to be in a different environment, in a new country, learning a new language and football is different as well. The gaffer (Simeone) is very intense and very demanding. It is always good to have a manager like that because you want to push as much as you can and be there every single day.”With another clash against Barcelona looming, Lookman is going to borrow from his Copa Del Rey experience. “We all know about Barcelona’s quality. We played them twice in Copa del Rey and there’s a lot to take away from both games. You can expect something unexpected but that’s football. But for us, it’s obviously preparing the same way that we’ve been preparing in the best way possible and eke out the best result.”Full of praise for Antoine Griezmann, Lookman called the Frenchman a legend of the game. “His personality is what makes him special. His understanding of details on the pitch, his way of passing, his touches, the timing and everything. Just coming here and obviously seeing that in person is hugely enlightening. When you see that up close you realise it’s something special.”Lookman won the African footballer of the Year award in 2024 and his compatriot, Victor Osimhen won it a year before. Flaunting that firepower, Super Eagles still failed to earn a ticket to the World Cup this summer. “Obviously the disappointment of not qualifying for the World Cup is there for everybody,” he said. “It’s for us players and the country to feel that. We need to improve in many areas on the pitch and off the pitch as well. With the group of players that we have, we can do a lot. We showed that in the AFCON where we finished third. The most important thing is how we can affect today and how we can affect the future. We have to keep working and keep improving.”(Fans can watch LALIGA exclusively on FanCode)