Criticise the Spanish as a group (5)
I believe the answer is:
panel
'a group' is the definition.
The answer is an example.
'criticise the spanish' is the wordplay.
'criticise' becomes 'pan' (informal term meaning to criticise heavily).
'the spanish' becomes 'el' ('the' in Spanish).
'pan'+'el'='PANEL'
'as' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for panel that I've seen before include "Committee to judge a competition or list from which to appoint someone" , "Group of interviewers" , "Section of wood or metal" , "Committee appointed to judge a competition" , "Body section" .)