Vinicius JR: Racism is never a sight anybody wants to see, be it on the football pitch or off it. Even though we are seeing campaigns to tackle the same, racism still exists in the world of football. Another shocking example of the same was witnessed in La Liga. Vinicius Jr, the Real Madrid winger was subjected to racial chants from the stands in Sunday’s defeat at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium. After he put out a statement regarding the same, the Brazilian winger received a lot of support and solidarity from players and fans alike. Follow La Liga LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN
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After hearing racial remarks from the crowd on Sunday during Real Madrid’s loss to Valencia at the Mestalla stadium, Real Madrid star Vincius Junior dubbed La Liga and Spain racist.
After the game was halted for ten minutes as Vinicius Jr. confronted the hecklers, he got into a fight with Valencia’s players, which led to his ejection in the second half.
Vinicius Jr Statement
The winger then took to Twitter to speak about the issue. He said, ‘It wasn’t the first time, nor the second, nor the third. Racism is normal in La Liga. The competition thinks it’s normal, the Federation does too and the opponents encourage it. I’m so sorry. The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano and Messi today belongs to racists.’
The statement continued, ‘A beautiful nation, which welcomed me and which I love, but which agreed to export the image of a racist country to the world. I’m sorry for the Spaniards who don’t agree, but today, in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists. And unfortunately, for everything that happens each week, I have no defense. I agree. But I am strong and I will go to the end against racists. Even if far from here.’
In what looks like a ray of hope in this grim situation, a lot of players and fans have come out to support the Real Madrid winger.
Vinicius Jr receiving support
In response to new racist shouts, Kylian Mbappe has put his support behind Vinicius Junior and made the statement below. PSG starlet Kylian Mbappe, who expressed his wish to encourage the Brazilian, has backed the winger in his determination to beat the canker. Mbappe wrote on Instagram, ‘You’re not alone. We are with you & we support you.’
Brazil’s President speaks about the incident
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, president of Brazil, has joined soccer clubs and players in showing their support for star striker Vinicius Junior after he encountered racial taunts once more on Sunday during a Spanish League game.
At a news conference held in conjunction with the G7 summit in Japan, Lula expressed his wish that FIFA, the Spanish League, and other soccer organizations “take measures so we do not allow racism and fascism to take over” the game.
He said, ‘It is not fair that a poor boy who is winning in his life, becoming one of the best in the world, certainly the best at Real Madrid, is insulted in every stadium he goes to.’
Many of Vinicius’ national team teammates came out in support of the 22-year-old forward, who has faced racial taunts ever since relocating to Spain five years ago.
His Brazilian teammate, Richarlison said, ‘They always did whatever they could to stop Blacks from coming near the top. They enslaved, marginalized and killed. But they will never knock down those who were born to be big. History forgets the rats and makes those fighting these bad people much bigger. I am with you always, Vini.’
Popular YouTuber Darren “IShowSpeed” has tweeted in support of the winger too. The young African-American makes content around football and didn’t shy away from showing support for Vinicius Jr. In the tweet, he said, ‘This Vini stuff is crazy. It’s so hard being Black. We stand with you @vinijr.’
No action has been taken so far by either La Liga or Javier Tebas. La Liga tweeted, ‘If any hate crime is identified, we will take the appropriate legal action.’
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