Real Betis striker Borja Iglesias has explained he painted his nails black as it is a good way to fight “against racism and homophobia”.
The symbolic gesture comes in the midst of global demonstrations and solidarity after the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police in the United States, sparking mass protests.
After pictures emerged of the striker in training with Betis showing all of his fingernails, there were social media users questioning why he had decided to do so.
Indeed, one user posted a question ‘what the hell is this’ whilst quoting the image and Iglesias decided to respond to the enquiry, which was subsequently deleted by the user.
“Let me explain it to you, there is no issue,” Iglesias said on Twitter, as cited by Diario AS.
Te lo explico yo, que no hay problema.
Es una forma de concienciarme y luchar desde mi posición contra el racismo, pero creo que también me viene bien contra lo homofobia.
Además tengo que admitirte que me gustan.— Borja Iglesias (@BorjaIglesias9) June 3, 2020
The striker had also posted a tweet against racism on the social network to which he added a black fist that symbolises the fight against racism, which he subsequently made his avatar.
🖤#BlackOutTuesday pic.twitter.com/EDzaKad6bm
— Borja Iglesias (@BorjaIglesias9) June 2, 2020
🖤🤍💚
Hoy y siempre decimos no al racismo y no a la homofobia. No a cualquier tipo de odio.
La lucha contra esta lacra se puede expresar de muchas maneras. Lo importante es visibilizarla.
Eres top, @BorjaIglesias9. pic.twitter.com/rRnpNYz51P
— Real Betis Balompié (En Casa) 🌴💚 (@RealBetis) June 4, 2020
Iglesias has netted three goals for Betis since his €28m switch from Espanyol last summer.
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