Lamine Yamal has broken his silence on the controversy that followed in the wake of his 18th birthday this summer – after the Barcelona starlet was accused of exploiting people with dwarfism and ‘hiring’ women based on their measurements.
The teenager is one of the most talented footballers in the European game but over the summer, Yamal made headlines for his exploits away from the pitch.
The forward celebrated his birthday in July with around 200 people attending the event, including friends, family and team-mates.
Reports later emerged that people with Achondroplasia had been hired to work as waiters at the birthday party, leading to condemnation from activist groups and the General Director of Disability Jesus Martin in the Spanish government.
Claims were also made by a model named Claudia Calvo that Yamal paid for 12 women with a ‘certain breast size’ to attend the ‘Mafia’ themed bash.
But after weathering the storm of public opinion, Yamal stayed quiet over the party – choosing to break his silence nearly two months later.
Speaking to Spanish programme Resonancia de Corazon (via Daily Mail), Yamal admitted that he found the controversy more amusing than concerning.
“I wasn’t mad,’ the 18-year-old said. ‘I found it funny.
“They tried to smear it in many ways. A woman said I chose the girls one way or another, and it was all a lie.
“Then there was the thing about the waiters, who were working there.”
The Association of People with Achondroplasia and Other Skeletal Dysplasias with Dwarfism (ADEE) threatened to take legal action over the hiring of the waiters, while Martin called for ministers to approve an investigation into doing so.
Martin told Marca: “We are concerned that people with money, people with power, believe themselves to be unpunished. The law is for everyone, for the humble and for the powerful.”
Martin also expressed his fear that this kind of party could impact impressionable young fans who look up to Yamal and copy his behaviour.
