Lamine Yamal turned 18 on July 13—and the whole world found out. Unfortunately, the negative side of things is that his birthday celebration has angered much of the public for several reasons.
The young «FC Barcelona prodigy» threw a lavish party at an exclusive country estate in Olivella, near Sitges, with a weekly rental value of €40,000 and featured top-tier artists.
The day began with an intimate lunch at the restaurant La Cúpula del Garraf with his closest family, including his parents and grandmother. But the real party began later. Around 9:00 PM, after a brief delay due to weather alerts in Catalonia, the event officially kicked off what was meant to be an iconic night…
However, the way that «iconic night» was organized has drawn sharp criticism, sparking backlash across social media and from various human rights organizations.
The Association for People with Achondroplasia and Other Skeletal Dysplasias (ADEE) publicly condemned the use of individuals with dwarfism as party entertainment, stating their intent to take both legal and social action. Many viewed this as a dehumanizing choice, drawing uncomfortable parallels to medieval court jesters—an image that strips dignity from the community.
Additional controversy arose when a young woman, speaking on the Spanish TV program TardeAR, claimed she had been part of a casting process in which women were selected based on physical attributes such as hair color and breast size. Reports also indicated that these selected women received prepaid cards worth between €10,000 and €20,000 for party expenses.
To top it off, the event featured a mafia-themed dress code, which, while less serious, still disturbed many for glamorizing criminal organizations associated with violence and corruption. Moreover, Spanish journalist Javi de Hoyos reported that women invited to the party were not permitted to be accompanied by any men.
The fact is, Yamal has become a role model for many young people who aspire to be like him. That’s dangerous if his actions include things like hiring attractive women as «decorations» for his party—like choosing flowers or centerpieces.
It feels like a step back in time to the infamous parties of players like Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, or even Maradona, where women were treated as mere sexualized objects.
And hiring people with dwarfism takes us back even further. It’s deeply upsetting to many parents whose children admired him, and to fans who may applaud his football decisions—but not his personal ones.
Once again, we find ourselves facing the eternal dilemma: Can you separate the guy from the artist… or in this case, the athlete?
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