BARCELONA -- Fans were warned several times to stop anti-Muslim chants after a series of such shouts were repeated during the first half of Spain's 0-0 draw in a friendly with Egypt on Tuesday.
A message was displayed on the screen at halftime -- which was also read out by the stadium announcer at Espanyol's RCDE Stadium in Barcelona -- ordering supporters to desist from xenophobic remarks and singing.
The message was then repeated early in the second half, with some sections of the crowd whistling at the request.
There was loud whistling during Egypt's national anthem before the game, with some fans chanting "Musulmán el que no bote" -- which roughly translated to "If you're not jumping, you're a Muslim" -- before whistling again when some Egyptian players kneeled and kissed the ground at halftime.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation reacted soon after by denouncing the chants.
"The RFEF stands against racism in football and condemns any act of violence inside stadiums," they posted on social media.
After the game, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente condemned the racist chants from the fans.
"I am repulsed by and absolutely reject any form of xenophobia or racism -- it's completely intolerable," De la Fuente said in a news conference.
"I don't know exactly what the protocol is, but I think it was the right decision to display the message on the scoreboard and make the announcement.
"Those [chanting] are a disgrace -- and the majority [inside the stadium] whistled them. There's nothing else to say.
"They are not representative of football. They take advantage of football, as they do in other areas of life. They need to be removed from society -- the further away, the better."
Egypt is a predominantly Muslim nation with Islam as the official state religion.
One of Spain's starting players on the night, Lamine Yamal, is Muslim.
The Barcelona forward's father is from Morocco and he practices the religion, taking part in Ramadan just last month.
Spain's game with Egypt was a warmup fixture for this summer's World Cup, with both nations qualified for the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
La Roja will face Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay in Group H, while Egypt are scheduled to face Belgium, New Zealand and Iran in Group G.