Spain's ex-PM unrepentant on France football team remark

Rajoy was accused of racism and spreading hatred by politicians in both countries after making the remark in an opinion article published last week.

In a new column published Tuesday night, Rajoy did not directly address his earlier comment.

Instead, the conservative former leader thanked "the authorities for the attention they have paid me during this World Cup.

"It is a pity that so much effort devoted to praising my virtues has distracted them from other issues... that matter to Spaniards," he added.

That appeared to be directed at the minority government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, which has been weakened by corruption scandals involving people close to it.

He also appeared to reject calls from the government to apologise.

"They never apologise for anything. Apparently that is always left to others. You already know what I am like and what I think," he wrote.

He served as Spain's prime minister from 2011 until he was ousted by a no-confidence vote led by Sanchez in 2018.

He sparked the controversy in a column published last Friday in which he praised France as "a team of the highest quality" but added, "without French people."