Spain manager Luis de la Fuente delivered a passionate defense of his decision to allow Lamine Yamal to “stay home” and miss La Roja’s game against Czechia, stating those who believe the teenager didn’t want to travel with the rest of the team are “speaking from a place of ignorance.”

On Monday, it was revealed that Yamal would not journey to Prague for Spain’s UEFA Nations League match against Czechia on Thursday after he picked up a minor knee injury in Barcelona’s weekend victory over Atlético Madrid. Instead, the 19-year-old is expected to join De la Fuente’s squad when they return to home soil on Friday ahead of the subsequent clash with England.

This prompted widespread conspiracy theories in Spain, with multiple reports suggesting Yamal simply didn’t want to take part in the match with Czechia. On the eve of the game, De la Fuente shed light on the situation with a detailed and passionate response.

“To speak from a place of ignorance, in life, is the saddest and [most] regrettable thing,” De la Fuente said. “So that’s why I’m here to give light, to see if those who think what you just said find out.

“Lamine picked up an issue in his last game, he had some pain on one of his knees. He went to do the regular treatment, he got an MRI in Barcelona and they saw he had an inflammation and liquid in his knee. That meant we had to give him rest. Our medical service and their medical service [Barcelona’s] have a fantastic relationship.

“I decided, to avoid him making the trip to continue his treatment without knowing if he was going to be healthy to return to training on Friday, I preferred he stayed home, training with the club. And on Friday, if he’s available by Thursday, he can join us on Friday.”

De la Fuente Vehemently Denies Yamal’s ‘Special Privileges’

De la Fuente’s emphatic defense of how Spain has handled Yamal’s injury and his rejection of “false reports” didn’t end there. Multiple reports suggested they had acquiesced to Yamal and Barcelona’s wishes, giving him preferential treatment by allowing him to join the national team later in the week. The 65-year-old decidedly shut down those claims.

“I’m here to clarify this and shed light on things people say … utilizing false arguments to create a reality that has nothing to do with certainty, with the truth,” De la Fuente said. “It’s like that, so I’m here to give light.

“[Yamal] doesn’t have any privileges and his teammates are relaxed, because we treat everyone the same way, in this situation as well. We would’ve done this with any other player and the players know this.

“So, this doesn’t bother me and in the locker room we’re fantastically well. We do miss, obviously, not only him but also Dani Olmo and all the players that can’t be with us. Unfortunately, this is football, injuries, and we’re here to give solutions.”

"What hurts me the most are the lies,” De la Fuente added. “What hurts me the most is the lack of rigor, what hurts me the most is the lack of veracity, making up things. Against that, I rebel, or I try to rebel. That’s why I’ve told perhaps more things than I should’ve. But it’s the only way for people to know, with information, what the reality is.”

“I can’t stand people that try to deceive and lie,” the Spain boss concluded.

History Proves De la Fuente Isn’t Lying About Yamal’s Treatment

De la Fuente is right, “privileges” or “preferential treatment” has been far from what Yamal has received while on international duty in recent times. In fact, particularly when it comes to injuries, the World Cup-winning coach has been criticized for pushing the youngster despite not being fully fit.

A little over a year has passed since Barcelona boss Hansi Flick took aim at Spain’s handling of Yamal’s infamous groin injury.

During the September international break in 2025, the teenager received painkillers so he could feature for Spain in a pair of games it won handily. Yamal arrived to camp with pain but still played significant minutes for La Roja, before returning to Catalonia with an aggravated issue that forced him to miss five games in the coming month.

“They gave him painkillers so he could play. That’s not looking after the player. I’m very sad about this,” Flick vented back then, to which De la Fuente later responded by saying, “I don’t care.”

A much more cautious approach was taken during the 2026 World Cup when Yamal arrived at the tournament less than two months removed from tearing his hamstring. His minutes were carefully managed during the group stage and he then played every minute of the knockout rounds, even if he still looked far from his best version in La Roja’s title-run.

During the September-October international window, no Spain player registered more minutes in the four opening 2026–27 Nations League group stage games than Yamal’s 281.