De la Fuente denies racism; Tuchel accuses media of stirring up trouble.

Ahead of England's highly anticipated away match against Spain, the two managers engaged in a war of words over the topic of anti-racism during their pre-match press conference.

In response to England manager Thomas Tuchel's statement that he would remind players of anti-racism protocols, Spain manager Luis de la Fuente responded strongly, insisting that there is no racism in Spain.

This match at the Metropolitan Stadium in Madrid marks the first time the two teams have met in Madrid since 2004 when some black English players were subjected to racially abusive language at the Bernabéu Stadium.

Despite England's three subsequent trips to Spain without incident, Tuchel remained cautious when asked about the return to Madrid on Friday, stating that while the team did not anticipate any unpleasantness, given past precedents, they might spend five minutes informing the players of the relevant procedures.

In March of this year, Spain was fined for using discriminatory slogans against Muslims during a match against Egypt. When asked about this and Tuchel's comments, de la Fuente retorted bluntly: "I would say the exact opposite."

“Tell Thomas that there is no racism here, it’s that simple and clear. It’s exactly the same as England, we are not racists, none of us are.”

Facing escalating public opinion, Tuchel expressed strong dissatisfaction with the media late Saturday night, accusing journalists of creating trouble out of nothing. Tuchel explained, "At the time, people kept asking me what I would do if this happened, and I just answered that we have established procedures, that's all."

“I never talked about racism in Spain. I was just politely answering a question about handling an emergency. You are making a fuss over nothing and creating a lot of chaos.”

Furthermore, De la Fuente praised this high-profile match as one of the most exciting games in world football today, and admitted that the Spanish team needs to show even greater control of the game than when they narrowly won 3-2 at Wembley in September.

Image source: Internet