It was around June 2020 when Betis’ battering ram centre-forward Borja Iglesias started painting his nails before matches. And it wasn’t much long after that, when the first tweet dropped.
‘What the f*** is this?’ posted one enquirer. Iglesias responded: ‘I don’t have a problem explaining to you. It’s my way of raising awareness and fighting against racism, and I think it works against homophobia too.’
Three years on and it has become his trademark. The black varnish was an act of solidarity with those protesting the murder of George Floyd a month earlier in Minneapolis.