The football world has been rocked once again, this time not by on-field drama but by a deeply disturbing off-pitch incident involving Lamine Yamal’s father, Mounir Nasraoui.
According to Spanish reports, Nasraoui was brutally attacked and stabbed multiple times during an altercation in the Rocafonda neighbourhood of Mataró, Catalonia — the same community where Barcelona wonderkid Yamal grew up and famously represents through his “304” hand sign after scoring.
On August 14, 2024, a confrontation escalated after Nasraoui had water thrown at him from a nearby building. What started as an argument turned violent hours later in a nearby car park.
Witnesses told La Vanguardia that a man chased Nasraoui before stabbing him two or three times in the chest and side. The 39-year-old was immediately rushed to Can Ruti hospital in Badalona, where doctors described his injuries as “life-threatening.”
Eyewitnesses have painted a grim picture of the night’s events. One witness said:
“Mounir ran, and the man came after him and stabbed him… two or three times in the chest and side.”
Another added chillingly:
“They wanted to kill him. One had a knife. He started as if he were an animal. He was going to kill him.”
The alleged attackers were later arrested, but the case has taken an unexpected twist.
In a shocking development, Nasraoui appeared in court as a defendant, not a victim. The attackers reportedly claimed they acted in self-defence, alleging Nasraoui had thrown punches that broke one of their noses.
Nasraoui, on the other hand, insists any blows he dealt were purely to protect himself after being cornered in the car park.
The accused attacker, who initially confessed to the stabbing, later changed his legal defence team and now maintains it was an act of self-defence. The case remains open, with Catalonian authorities still reviewing testimonies and evidence.
For Yamal, one of football’s brightest stars, this case has cast a long and painful shadow over his meteoric rise.
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