Barcelona star forward Lamine Yamal is potentially facing legal action after allegedly hiring professional dwarves as entertainment for his 18th birthday party on Sunday night.
Yamal clocked adulthood on Sunday, July 13, the same day that Barcelona’s first team returned for preseason training.
Before joining his teammates in training, Yamal was pictured celebrating his birthday with several events over the weekend.
However, Spain’s Association of People with Achondroplasia and Other Skeletal Dysplasias with Dwarfism (ADEE), claimed that one such activity had people with dwarfism hired solely for entertainment and promotional activities.
As pointed out by the ADEE, Spain’s General Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities expressly prohibits “shows or recreational activities in which people with disabilities or other circumstances are used to provoke mockery, ridicule or derision from the public in a manner contrary to the respect due to human dignity are prohibited”.
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The Ministry of Social Rights have since requested that the Prosecutor’s Office investigate whether this law has been breached.
In a strongly worded statement, ADEE warned that they would take legal and social action to safeguard the dignity of people with disabilities.
“The Association of People with Achondroplasia and Other Skeletal Dysplasias with Dwarfism (ADEE), a member organization of the Spanish Confederation of People with Physical and Organic Disabilities (COCEMFE), condemns and publicly denounces the hiring of people with dwarfism as part of the entertainment at the recent 18th birthday party of soccer player Lamine Yamal.
“The Association announces that it will take legal and social action to safeguard the dignity of people with disabilities, considering that these actions violate not only current legislation but also the fundamental ethical values of a society that seeks to be egalitarian and respectful.
“During the birthday of the young footballer, a prominent figure in Spanish sport, people with dwarfism were hired solely for entertainment and promotional activities. ADEE considers this type of practice intolerable because it perpetuates stereotypes, fuels discrimination, and undermines the image and rights of those with achondroplasia or other skeletal dysplasias, as well as all people with disabilities.”
According to si.com, ADEE President Carolina Puente stated: “It is unacceptable that in the 21st century, people with dwarfism continue to be used as entertainment at private parties, and even more serious when these incidents involve public figures like Lamine Yamal.”
Puente added: “When a person with social influence participates in these types of situations, the damage is even greater, because it conveys to society—especially to young people—that discrimination is acceptable.”
But one of the individuals thought to be the subject of discrimination strongly refuted those claims.
“No one disrespected us; [they] let us work in peace,” an anonymous artist who worked at the party told RAC1. “I don’t understand why there’s so much hype about it. We’re normal people, doing what we want, in a completely legal manner.”
The unnamed performer went on to hit out at ADEE.
“For the past couple of years, these people have been harming us,” they stressed. “They want to ban a job we love, and in no case have they offered jobs or courses to those affected. We work as entertainers. Why can’t we do it? Because of our physical condition?”
