Barcelona’s football gem Lamine Yamal, who celebrated his 18th birthday on Sunday, unexpectedly found himself at the center of a scandal, because he hired dwarfs as entertainers at his birthday party, British media reported.
This is why the Spanish Association of People with Achondroplasia and Other Forms of Skeletal Dysplasia (ADEE) reported this case to the Office for Persons with Disabilities at the Ministry of Social Welfare. That office submitted a criminal complaint to the State Prosecutor’s Office, which will now investigate whether the law and the rights of people with disabilities were violated.
ADEE said that Spain’s law on the rights of people with disabilities prohibits the organization of performances or other entertainment that could cause mockery and ridicule of people with disabilities.
“We condemn the practice of dwarfs participating in parties. This violates the law and the fundamental ethical values of a society that strives to preserve the equality and dignity of its citizens. It also encourages stereotypes and discrimination against people with disabilities,” ADEE announced.
The birthday party was held on Sunday, July 13, at a property in the town of Olivella, 50 kilometers northwest of Barcelona, and it was attended, among others, by Yamal’s teammates from Barcelona and some so-called “influencers and youtubers”.
The Spanish radio station “RAC 1” published an interview with a person who claimed to have been among the entertainers at the birthday party and who came to Yamal’s defense.
“I don’t understand why there is such a fuss. We are normal people who work as entertainers, we are not circus monkeys. We know the limits and always respect them. What we do is legal and no one at the party showed disrespect. Our show lasted an hour, and after that we joined the guests at the birthday party. We drank, danced, performed magic tricks… Everyone had a good time,” said an entertainer who wished to remain anonymous to radio station “RAC 1”.
The British BBC asked Barcelona football club for comment on the case. A Barca spokesman said that the club cannot comment on an event that falls within the private sphere of a player’s life, and that they would only make a statement once the specific facts surrounding the party have been established.
