A handshake that lasted barely a second has thrust Lamine Yamal back into the centre of an online storm. The Barcelona forward, still only 18, was filmed offering Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía the briefest of greetings during Spain's World Cup celebrations at the Zarzuela Palace.
The clip has attracted more than 2.7 million views as of this writing, and Yamal's every gesture, or lack of one, is being picked apart by strangers thousands of miles away. What should have been a routine royal reception has instead reopened a familiar argument about respect, culture and what is owed to whom.
Lamine Yamal's Recent Viral Moment That Sparked the Uproar
A viral clip shared on X (formerly Twitter) shows Yamal shaking hands with King Felipe VI, then embracing him warmly, before turning to greet Queen Letizia and the princesses. With Princess Leonor and Princess Sofia, his manner shifted noticeably: the handshake was fleeting, and he appeared to avoid making eye contact with either young royal. Some viewers argued he looked distracted or nervous rather than deliberately cold.
Others read it differently—interpreting the contrast between his warmth towards the King and his stiffness to the princesses as pointed, even disrespectful. That reading is what turned a fleeting royal reception into a viral talking point.
He also faced intense backlash after allegedly ignoring his girlfriend, Ines Garcia Santos, in another viral video.
تعامل لامين يامال مع أميرات إسبانيا! 🇪🇸🤯❌ pic.twitter.com/YDuILR3Jky
— Qio | كيو (@QioHub) July 21, 2026
Why Yamal's 1-Second Greeting Split the Internet
The clip split opinion sharply. Some social media users accused Yamal of arrogance, with others suggesting he owed Spain more warmth after the opportunities the country had given him.
'A lack of manners, respect, and arrogance from him, instead of thanking them for granting him citizenship and giving him value and a future in life, he's arrogant toward those who welcomed him and introduced him to the world,' one commented. Another added, 'A lack of respect and manners, coming to welcome him as if he deserves it.'
While several social media users framed his reserve as a lack of manners unbefitting his status as a national hero, a smaller number of commentators framed his reserve through the lens of their own interpretation of Islamic norms regarding interactions with women.
Other social media users were quick to counter that a brief, formal greeting towards princesses is entirely appropriate, and that warmth towards a king does not obligate the same towards his daughters.
'Greet the king with all warmth and respect. And with respect to the queen because she is great. And with the girls in a formal, quick manner and without looking. A respectable person,' one defender wrote. Another opined, 'They consider him arrogant, but he is Muslim and respects his boundaries, and he greeted with peace and lowered his gaze.'
The exchange has drawn in thousands of accounts, with the debate showing little sign of cooling.
The 18-Year-Old Sensation With Three Nationalities
The controversy has reignited a familiar question - is Lamine Yamal Spanish or Moroccan? The answer is both: he was born in Spain to a Moroccan father from Larache and an Equatoguinean mother from Bata.
That upbringing on Spanish soil made him eligible to represent Spain, Morocco or Equatorial Guinea internationally, and he ultimately chose La Roja, the country where he was raised and developed as a footballer. Yamal is a Spanish citizen, having been born and raised in Spain, rather than receiving citizenship as a gift later in life, a distinction several commentators piling on him online have overlooked.
He has never distanced himself from his heritage, however, often wearing boots bearing the flags of both Morocco and Equatorial Guinea and describing Morocco as 'also my country.' The fresh row over his brief greeting with the royal sisters has, inevitably, reopened older arguments about identity, belonging and what is expected of him as one of Spanish football's brightest young stars. Whether the criticism fades or persists, Yamal's status as Spain's teenage football sensation means his every public move will continue to be scrutinised.
