Vinícius Júnior, the Real Madrid forward who has suffered racist attacks from fans in the stands of Spanish stadiums over the past two seasons, took to social media after the latest attack against him on Sunday (21), when he was called a monkey by Valencia fans. This time, he targeted not only his aggressors but also the league itself and its officials.
“It was not the first time, nor the second, nor the third,” Vinícius Júnior wrote in a post on his Twitter and Instagram accounts. “Racism is normal in La Liga. The competition finds it normal, the federation does too, and the opponents encourage it.” Spain, he said, is becoming known in Brazil “as a country of racists.”
On Sunday, Vinícius Júnior was met by fans chanting the word “mono” (monkey in Spanish) even before he got off the Real Madrid bus in front of the Mestalla stadium in Valencia. The match was briefly interrupted in the 71st minute when he complained about the abuse to the referee, and an anti-racism statement – part of a league protocol for such incidents – was read to the crowd over the stadium’s loudspeakers.
Racial abuse in the stands of Spanish football stadiums is not uncommon or new, but it has taken on a particular focus: Vinícius Júnior, who has emerged as one of the standout players in the league since the departures of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
In a statement announcing an investigation into the events of Sunday in Valencia, La Liga acknowledged having reported nine incidents of racist abuse against Vinícius Júnior over the past two seasons.
The La Liga statement came after the player spoke out on his social media.
“A beautiful nation that welcomed me and that I love, but that has accepted exporting to the world the image of a racist country,” he wrote. “I feel sorry for the Spaniards who do not agree, but today, in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists,” Viny Junior said in his post, suggesting that a failure to act against racism could force him to leave the country.
The reaction to what happened at Mestalla reignited the debate about how Spanish football deals with racism inside stadiums. In a television interview shortly after the match, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelloti reacted with disbelief when asked to talk about the game. “I don’t want to talk about football,” he said. “I want to know about what happened here.”
Within hours, La Liga’s CEO, Javier Tebas, exchanged barbs with Vinícius Júnior on Twitter. Tebas defended Spain, detailed the league’s efforts to combat racist behavior, and reprimanded Vinícius for not attending two meetings to discuss the abuse he had suffered.
Tebas’s statement led to an angry response from the player.
“Once again, instead of criticizing the racists, the president of La Liga appears on social media to attack me,” Vinícius wrote. “No matter how much you talk and pretend you didn’t read it, the image of your league has been affected by this. Look at the responses to your posts and you will be surprised. Staying silent only makes you equal to the racists.”
The incident drew criticism and messages of support from around the world.
During a press conference at the conclusion of the G7 summit in Japan, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he wanted to send a message of solidarity to Vinícius, stating that it was “unjust” for him to “be insulted in every stadium where he plays.”
“It is not possible, in the 21st century, to have such strong racial prejudice in so many football stadiums,” Lula said.
Current and former players also joined Vinícius, criticizing Spanish authorities for not doing more to end racism, which some commentators in the country tend to describe as merely an effort to gain an advantage on the field.
Kylian Mbappé, who nearly moved to Spain last season to join Vinícius in Madrid, posted a message of support on Instagram. He was joined by Neymar, a Brazilian star who also faced racial abuse while playing in Spain for Barcelona.
This latest incident could become a new obstacle for Spanish football as it seeks global support to host the 2030 World Cup in conjunction with Portugal and Morocco.
Source: The New York Times