Sept 18 (Reuters) - Barcelona forward ⁠Lamine Yamal said he has experienced racism "a thousand times", ⁠with many people unaware that their comments or ‌behaviour are racist.

The 19-year-old has been the target of racial abuse during his rapid rise to prominence.

In October 2024, footage appeared to show Lamine, Raphinha ​and Ansu Fati being racially abused during ⁠Barcelona's match against Real ⁠Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The Spanish Observatory on Racism and ⁠Xenophobia said ‌in a bulletin published in March that Lamine and Vinicius Jr were the most frequent targets ⁠of online racist abuse in Spain in the ​final quarter of ‌2025.

Asked by former Argentina international Jorge Valdano in an ⁠interview with Spanish ​broadcaster Movistar whether he had directly experienced racism, Lamine said: "A thousand times.

"People are indirectly racist toward you, but maybe don't realise ⁠it. There are a lot of comments ​or looks that are racist and they don't even notice.

"If someone calls me Black, it’s not going to bother me at ⁠all, ultimately I'm Black, I'm not any other colour. Another thing is whether it's good or bad, whether they're saying it to offend me.

"But if I’m playing a match and ​they paid for a ticket to see ⁠me, I’m not going to get angry just because they ​disrespected me."

LaLiga has stepped up efforts to ‌combat racist abuse in stadiums ​following a number of high-profile incidents in Spanish football in recent years.

(Reporting by Ruairidh BarlowEditing by Toby Davis)