Spanish football has once again been rocked by a debate on racism following another episode of abuse against star Vinicius Junior, with the president of the national federation acknowledging that the country suffers from a racism problem. Real Madrid, the club of the Brazilian attacker, demanded from the authorities that the incident that occurred over the weekend be investigated as a hate crime.
Leaders, as well as active and retired players, expressed their solidarity with Vinicius, who on Sunday considered retiring from the field after receiving racist insults from fans during Madrid’s 1-0 defeat in Valencia in the Spanish League.
“We have a problem of behavior, education, racism,” said the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, on Monday. “As long as there is a single undesirable or a group of undesirables who insults by sexual condition, skin color or creed, we have a serious problem. We have a problem that stains a club, a hobby, an entire country.”
Valencia confirmed that they banned one of their fans for life and that they were still focused on identifying others who would have insulted Vinicius at the Mestalla stadium.
“From the moment of the events, all the available recordings are being analyzed, working as quickly as possible to clarify what happened in order to act quickly and forcefully,” Valencia said in a statement, adding that it is collaborating with the police to identify other culprits.
Madrid, for its part, called on the authorities to investigate the abuses.
“Real Madrid shows its strongest rejection and condemns the events that took place yesterday against our player Vinicius Junior,” said the club from the capital in one of two statements issued on Monday. “These facts constitute a direct attack on the coexistence model of our social and democratic state of law.”
In a second statement, Madrid lashed out at Rubiales: “Being as he is the maximum person in charge of Spanish football and of the arbitration establishment, he has allowed that forceful action has not been taken, according to FIFA protocols, to avoid the situation to which it has arrived The image of our football is seriously damaged and deteriorated in the eyes of the whole world,” the club said.
La Liga has filed formal complaints for racist conduct against Vinicius in the last two seasons, but most of the cases have been shelved by prosecutors. It is expected that another complaint will be filed after what happened in Valencia is completed.
Several fans have been fined or banned from stadiums for abusive conduct, but only one Mallorca supporter could be prosecuted for using racist insults at the Brazilian player during a match.
The first trial against a fan accused of racist abuse in professional soccer in Spain could begin this year, and it involves Iñaki Williams. The Athletic Bilbao forward was the victim of insults from an Espanyol fan during a match in 2020.
“I’m very curious to see what happens,” said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who on Sunday considered taking Vinicius out of the game. “Nothing happens, it has happened in other stadiums and nothing has happened. I am not a judge but the situation has to be evaluated well, because it is quite serious ”.
Xavi Hernández, his Barcelona counterpart, declared that people should be educated and punished. He also called for stricter measures against racist behavior during matches.
“You have to educate people and say ‘enough is enough’. You have to stop the game and go home”, stated Xavi. “a We have to get strong to eradicate racism”.
Vinicius, who is black and has been the victim of a racist insult since arriving from Brazil five years ago, said after the match in Valencia that the Spanish league “today belongs to racists” and that Spain is seen as a “racist” nation. .
The Spanish government and various football establishments deplored the insults against Vinicius, but disagreed with the player for generalizing about Spain and that its population is racist.
In the world of football, Vinicius received unconditional support.
“All our solidarity with Vinicius,” said the FIFA president. “There is no place for racism in football or in society, and FIFA supports all the players who have suffered it themselves.”
Vinicius is not the only player in Spanish or European football who has been the victim of racial abuse. But the Brazilian star has been the focus of many acts of hate in recent years, particularly this season for dancing when he celebrates his goals. In January, an effigy of the player was hung from a bridge over a highway in Madrid.
“You are not alone,” French star Kylian Mbappé said on Instagram. “We are with you and we support you.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and several of his ministers came out in support of Vinicius and criticized Spanish soccer.
“It is not fair that a poor boy who is earning a living, and is becoming one of the best in the world, certainly the best in Real Madrid, is insulted in all the stadiums he goes to,” Lula said.
The president of the League, Javier Tebas, criticized Vinicius for attacking the championship and reproached him for not attending invitations to meetings to address the matter and that the player himself had requested.
The League defends itself by saying that its only power is to file complaints and that it is up to the authorities to punish the perpetrators, and to the federation to punish the clubs and referees.
But FIFA, the governing body of soccer, updated its disciplinary protocol in 2013 and includes the possibility of removing points and even relegation in the most serious cases, urging competitions to follow these instructions.
Vinucius crossed over to Thebes.
“Once again, instead of criticizing racists, the president of the League appears on social networks to attack me,” he said. “No matter how much you talk and pretend not to read, the image of your championship shakes. Look at the responses to your posts and be in for a surprise… Omitting yourself just makes you equal to racists. I’m not your friend to talk about racism. I want actions and punishments.”
___
AP Staff Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.
2023-05-23 04:58:30
#abuse #Vinicius #Spain #admits #racism #problem
