Tuchel to remind England of anti-racism protocols before Spain game

Manager Thomas Tuchel will remind England's players of Uefa's anti-racism protocols before Sunday's Nations League fixture against Spain in Madrid.

The match will be England's first in the Spanish capital since a notorious fixture at Real Madrid's Bernabeu stadium in 2004 which was overshadowed by racist chanting aimed at England players.

The Spanish federation was fined last month and ordered to play their next friendly match with a partial stadium closure after fans sang "Islamophobic and xenophobic" chants about Muslims during a game against Egypt.

"We had a same discussion before the Serbia game [in Belgrade in September 2025]," Tuchel said. "There is a protocol in place.

"Maybe we take our five minutes to inform the players about the protocol if there is a precedent [in Madrid]."

European governing body Uefa, the organiser of the Nations League, has a three-step protocol to handle incidents of discrimination inside stadiums, designed to give referees the power to halt matches, and even abandon games if racist behaviour continues.

In the first instance, referees halt the match and request an announcement on the public address system.

Then, if discrimination continues, officials can stop the game for five to 10 minutes and take the players from the field.

If issues continue after the second stoppage, then the game can be abandoned.

"It's important that the players know about the protocol," Tuchel said.

"And then, yeah, we will give our answers if stuff like this happens. Best answers are on the pitch."

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Sunday's fixture takes place at Atletico Madrid's home, the Metropolitano.

Victory would ensure England win their Nations League group and earn a more favourable quarter-final draw but world champions Spain are unbeaten in 43 matches, including a 3-2 win at Wembley in September.

"It's important that we play with the same mindset that we played at home, and attack them and try to make it a physical game, and try to impose our strength," Tuchel added.

"It [Spain] is a team that has forgotten how to lose, so it requires a top performance first of all, and if we can deliver this performance, it will give us a big boost.

"I think we're there, and I think we're ready to win on Sunday,"