Ruptly
"FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick said on Friday that the team must cope without Raphinha ahead of their clash against Atletico Madrid, describing the winger's injury as a setback at a decisive stage of the season. "It's an injury, so we have to live with that, [...] it's not the best moment for this injury - for us, for him. And he was very sad about this, and also we are not happy," Flick said during a press conference in Barcelona ahead of the La Liga game. Raphinha is FCB's second-highest scorer under Hansi Flick, contributing 53 of the club's 299 goals across the past two seasons. FC Barcelona head into the fixture against one of the strongest sides in La Liga, with Flick highlighting Atletico Madrid's quality and warning that his side must avoid the mistakes made in previous matches. "It's always tough against them. It's always tough against them because they have a fantastic team and also they have one of the best coaches in the world. So I appreciate a lot what I see when they're playing football," the coach said. "But I feel that there is energy because we have now the last maybe eight weeks until the end of the season, and we have to be focused. We have to be focused, and this is what I want to see from the team," he added. Addressing reports of 'Islamaphobic' chants during the recent friendly between the Spanish and Egyptian national teams, Flick called on fans to 'improve a little bit.' "I think it's here, football and life - not only football, in life, in this moment - it's not the time for racism," he stressed. Catalan police have launched an investigation into offensive chants reported during the match. The probe follows accounts of fans shouting, 'Whoever doesn't jump is a Muslim,' whistling during the Egyptian national anthem and directing verbal abuse at players. Following the game, Spain's 18-year-old star winger, Lamine Yamal - who is a Muslim - released a statement condemning fans' behaviour, saying that while the chants were "directed at the opposing team, [...] it's still disrespectful and intolerable" and emphasising that "using a religion as a taunt on the field makes you ignorant and racist.""
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