(July 12), Germany’s Labour Law Is Preventing Spain’s Lamine Yamal From Playing 90 Minutes At Euro 2024
The winger for Spain, Lamine Yamal, will turn 17 on the eve of the Euro 2024 final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin against England. In the 21st minute of the semi-final match against France earlier this week in Munich, Yamal, who is only 16 years and 362 days old, scored the goal, making history as the youngest player to score at the Euros. After lowering his shoulder, the Barcelona striker curled his shot past Mike Maignan and into the upper right corner of the French goal.
Why has Spain’s coach Luis de la Fuente not been able to play Yamal for an entire game during this tournament, despite his obvious wealth?
The German Labor Law, which stipulates that minors under the age of eighteen cannot work past eight o’clock (local time) on any given day, is primarily to blame for this. The athletes have a small advantage because they can “work” until 11 p.m.
The Spanish Football Association (RFEF) will be fined 30,000 euros if Yamal plays after 11 PM.
I’m not aware of any laws in Germany requiring Lamine to be taken out by 11 p.m. De la Fuente had stated earlier this month, “We don’t think so.“
Yamal was substituted off in stoppage time during the semi-final by De la Fuente, who described watching his performance against France as similar to watching “a genius“.
“The genius that we witnessed is the offspring of a genius. We have to look after him as a player, so I have to advise him to maintain his humility in the workplace and to keep his feet on the ground.”
Although he still has room to grow, his maturity and attitude already at such a young age are comparable to those of a more seasoned player. After the game, de la Fuente told the reporters, “We can enjoy him for many more years because he is Spanish.”
