World Cup winner Borja Iglesias has condemned a homophobic tirade aimed at his close friend and former Real Betis teammate Héctor Bellerín, after a prominent Spanish YouTuber mocked the defender’s appearance, politics and perceived sexuality.
The abuse came after Betis’ 1–0 win over Real Madrid in Seville, where Bellerín played the full 90 minutes and impressed while containing Vinícius Júnior.
Instead of the focus staying on his performance, Bellerín became the target of repeated anti-gay slurs during a post-match livestream — sparking outrage, an apology and now a formal complaint to prosecutors in Madrid.
YouTuber Targets Bellerín With Slurs
During a post-match livestream, Real Madrid-focused YouTuber and journalist Iñaki Angulo launched into a tirade about Bellerín without naming him directly.
Angulo mocked Bellerín for painting his nails, reading books by women and expressing left-wing political views, while repeatedly using a homophobic slur.
He also mockingly referred to Bellerín using the gender-neutral Spanish pronoun “elle”.
The target of the remarks was widely understood to be Bellerín, who has long been known for challenging traditional ideas of masculinity and speaking publicly about feminism, social justice and LGBTQ+ inclusion.
During his time at Arsenal, he was also a visible supporter of the club’s Gay Gooners LGBTQ+ supporters group.
Importantly, Bellerín has not publicly identified as gay. The abuse was homophobic because it used perceived sexuality and gender expression as weapons against him.
Borja Iglesias Calls It ‘Shameful’
Iglesias, now with Celta Vigo and part of Spain’s 2026 World Cup-winning squad, was quick to condemn the comments.
“Wow, how outrageous and shameful!” he wrote in response to a clip of the livestream.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen this person. What I’m sure of is that it’s not the first time he spouts nonsense like this.”
Iglesias has previously spoken publicly about the importance of tackling homophobia in football and has himself been targeted with anti-gay abuse for painting his nails and rejecting narrow stereotypes of masculinity.
His response was one of the most prominent displays of solidarity from within professional football.
Angulo Apologises As Complaint Is Filed
After clips of the livestream spread online, Angulo removed the offending section from the recorded stream and posted an apology.
He said the comments had been intended as humour but acknowledged they were not funny.
“I apologise absolutely to everyone who may have felt offended,” he said, adding that it was “time to learn” and “time to reflect”.
The controversy did not end there.
Spain’s Association for Transparency and Democracy in Sport has since filed a formal complaint with prosecutors in Madrid, arguing that the remarks may amount to a hate-related offence.
No court has ruled on that complaint, and no criminal liability has been established.
‘Red Card To Homophobia’
The backlash has also prompted a wider response outside professional football.
UGT Andalucía launched an awareness campaign titled “Red Card To Homophobia: I Paint My Nails Too”, encouraging men to paint their nails in solidarity with Bellerín.
The union said appearance, clothing, political views or gender expression should never be used to question a player’s masculinity or sexuality.
It also pointed out that professional football is a workplace and that players, like anyone else, are entitled to work without discriminatory abuse.
That message cuts to the heart of the issue.
Homophobia in football does not only affect openly LGBTQ+ players. It also polices anyone who steps outside rigid ideas about how men are expected to look, behave or express themselves.
Bellerín has never needed to be gay for anti-gay abuse directed at him to matter.
And Iglesias’ response shows why visible allies remain important in a sport where that kind of language still too often goes unchallenged.
