Real Madrid’s Brazilian attacking star Vinicius Junior was subjected to racism several times in the Spanish football league last season, According to the BBC in at least seven matches.
In the end, the cup went seriously upside down at the end of the season in the match against Valencia, in which a frustrated Vinicius received a red card in the final moments. After the match, Vinicius wrote a heavy text on social media.
– This was not the first, nor the second, nor the third time. Racism is normal in La Liga. Opponents consider it normal, as does the union. The league that used to belong For Ronaldinho, For Ronaldo, For Cristiano Ronaldo and For Lionel Messibelongs to racists nowadays, Vinicius wrote.
Read more: Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior was once again in the eye of the spectators, the head coach demanded to stop the game – “La Liga belongs to racists”
Vinicius’ opening led to a war of words with the president of La Liga Javier Tebasin with. Tebas accused Vinicius, for example, of not having arrived at the agreed meeting to discuss the issue.
This again got the head coach of Real Madrid, for example Carlo Ancelotti and Barcelona’s head coach Xavi to get angry, why Tebas blames the victim of racism, and does not intervene in La Liga’s problems.
– What we saw today is completely unacceptable. The entire stadium screams racist slurs. I told the referee that he should have stopped the match, the Italian champion coach Ancelotti updated and Xavi was on the same lines.
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Also president of the Spanish Football Association Luis Rubiales admitted that the Spanish league has a serious racism problem.
Why not get the problem under control in Spain?
Real Madrid also filed a criminal complaint. Vinicius called for tougher measures and sanctions to eradicate the problem.
– Mere press releases no longer help, Vinicius said.
Already earlier in the season, the inability of the Spanish league to deal with racism had become a topic of conversation. Unlike many other leagues, La Liga has said it cannot punish fans itself. In the Premier League, for example, gate bans are possible and clubs are fined sensitively.
The Spanish league has said it will report cases of racism to the public prosecutor, who can take the case to civil court. At least until February this had never happened.
For example, in one case the prosecutor did not take the case forward because “it was not a person who encourages racism” and in another case the prosecutor described that “the racist shouts were unpleasant, inappropriate and disrespectful, but only lasted a few seconds”.
In May, La Liga demanded more “punitive power” and new regulations from the Spanish government, so that it could tackle racism better. La Liga said it was “powerless” and “extremely frustrated”.
The fact that Vinicius has raised the issue has only caused more and more cases of racism against him. In January, a doll representing Vinicius was hung on a bridge near Real Madrid’s training stadium.
– Apart from the work done by La Liga, I don’t think anyone has any real interest in fighting this open and clear problem, said the Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague.
In Balague’s opinion, for example, in British football, the problem has been openly discussed. In his opinion, in Spain, for example, journalists who sympathize with Real Madrid and Barcelona fight with each other instead of discussing serious topics.
– There is no feeling on the streets of Spain that this is an urgent matter. Many blame Vinicius for what is happening.
Support has been pouring in, especially from Brazil
Since May, Vinicius Junior has received enormous support from, among others, his country’s football legends.
– Another case of racism in La Liga. How long? As long as there is impunity and pandering, there will be racism, striker legend Ronaldo wrote on Instagram.
– That’s enough! Vini, trust me in your fight. In our fight.
The Brazilian government also intervened, demanding action from Fifa, the Spanish league and the football association. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil was surprised that effective measures could not be taken in Spain to prevent repeated racism.
Now in Brazil, the state of Rio de Janeiro has established a new law named after Vinicius Junior (Vini Jr law).
In June, the government of the Rio region had unanimously approved a law that specifies that in the future sports events will be suspended if racism occurs.
– I hope my family is proud of me. It’s a very special day because I’m very young and I didn’t expect to receive such a tribute at the Maracana, which is a very special place for me.
Among others, Flamengo plays at the Maracana, which is Vinicius’ parent club.
The law was especially inspired by Vinicius’ reaction to racism after the Valencia match. The law includes mandatory education campaigns and a protocol for handling cases of racism.
At the same time, Vinicius Junior also received other awards. For example, his footprints were immortalized on the Maracana stadium floor by many legends such as I play and Garrincha alongside.
When the Brazilian national team played friendly matches against Guinea and Senegal in Barcelona and Lisbon in June, the matches were part of an anti-racism campaign. The same campaign will continue when Brazil face Spain at Real Madrid’s home stadium in March next year.
– It doesn’t just happen on the field. It doesn’t just happen in Spain. It happens everywhere. Not everyone can talk about it with the power with which I can talk about it, Vinicius stated.
The International Football Association Fifa has also taken note of Vinicius Junior’s fight. In June, he was appointed to lead a committee made up of players, which Fifa uses to fight racism.
– It is clear to me that there is no football if there is racism. So when there is racism, we have to stop the match. There is no other option, said the Fifa president to the news agency Reuters Gianni Infantino.
According to Infantino, the committee headed by Vinicius is supposed to present punishment options against racism.
– We need to hear from the players and what they need to work in a safer environment. We need tougher penalties. We can no longer tolerate racism in football, Infantino stated when he met Vinicius Junior and the Brazilian national team before the Guinea match in June.
Sources: BBC, ESPN, CNN