Thai official shares fake news about Spanish football star Lamine Yamal

Professor Charoen Watthanasin, Vice Chairman of the Thai Olympic Committee, recently made headlines for sharing fake news about Spain’s national football star Lamine Yamal. The online community is buzzing after Charoen posted a tweet on X (formerly Twitter) with an image of 17 year old Yamal, who recently played a crucial role in leading Spain to victory in the Euro 2024 championship.

The tweet claimed that Yamal was born in Yala, in the Kingdom of Thailand, and included a message stating, “I am proud to be born in Thailand, under the royal grace of the king. Though my physical form is Catalan, my blood is always blue-red-white (Lamine Yamal – Spanish national football player, European Cup champion, Thai born in Yala).”

This assertion that Lamine Yamal was born in Thailand and spent his childhood in Yala has been circulating on social media for the past few days. However, it lacks any credible sources and appears to be a fabricated story.

In reality, Lamine Yamal’s full name is Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana. He was born on July 13, 2007. His father, Munir Nasraoui, is from Morocco, and his mother, Sheila Ebana, is from Equatorial Guinea.

Both parents emigrated to Spain, where they started a new life, met, and eventually had Yamal in Mataro, Catalonia. This background information clarifies that the claim shared by Charoen is indeed fake news, seemingly concocted by someone for unknown reasons.

Charoen’s tweet, posted a few days ago, remains on the X platform, and he has not yet removed it, reported KhaoSod.

In a follow-up tweet, Charoen apologised, stating, “I deeply apologise if it is fake news.”

In related news, the Government of Thailand mobilised 400 agencies to combat fake news and online scams. The initiative, led by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DE) aims to address the growing problem of misinformation.