Barcelona’s teenage sensation, Lamine Yamal is to be the subject of an investigation by Spain’s Prosecutor’s Office, at the request of the nation’s Ministry of Social Rights, after claims that his 18th birthday party included people with dwarfism that were hired to provide entertainment.
It’s alleged that Yamal hired a group of entertainers with dwarfism at his party last Sunday, held in the town of Olivella, around 50km from Barcelona.
A BBC report says that the Association of People with Achondroplasia and other Skeletal Dysplasias in Spain (ADEE) described the act as "unacceptable in the 21st century" and that the ADEE has filed a legal complaint against the footballer.
As a result, the Directorate General has asked the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate whether the law or the rights of disabled people have been broken.
In a statement, the ADEE said it "publicly denounces the hiring of people with dwarfism as part of the entertainment," and said it would take legal action as it "perpetuates stereotypes, fuels discrimination, and undermines the image and rights" of people with disabilities.
Conversely, someone claiming to be one of the entertainers at the party appeared on the Spanish radio station RAC1 in defence of Yamal, saying: "No-one disrespected us, we worked in peace.
"I don't understand why there's so much hype. We're normal people, who do what we want, in an absolutely legal way. We work as entertainers. Why can't we do it? Because of our physical condition?
"We know what our limit is and we will never exceed it: we are not fairground monkeys."
The artist also claimed that, after the show, the entertainers had joined in with the party.
