Zizou dismisses racism claims

Zinedine Zidane has claimed it would be foolish to brand Spain as 'racist'.

Following incidents at the recent league games between Barcelona and Real Madrid, and Getafe and Barcelona last weekend, in which black players were racially abused by supporters, the matter has generated much media attention and debate.

Zidane has now stepped forward to insist that Spain's problem is by no means any worse than other countries, but feels intense media scrutiny has magnified the undesirable minority that are present.

"The problem of racism exists everywhere," he stated.

"Here there is so much media attention, the television is everywhere so they talk about it more.

"But I do not have the impression at all that Spain is a racist country.

"I believe the majority of Spaniards are tolerant and understanding. It would be foolish to say Spain is a racist country."

However, the French star - who is of Algerian origin - admits it will prove difficult to stamp out the vocal minority who have caused problems in recent matches.

"Everyone must try to combat them, but it will be difficult to make this minority disappear."