After a new case of racism, the president of the Spanish league rebuts the criticisms of the Brazilian player and the CBF and says that the body denounces and takes action against such incidents. Lula has also called for the intervention of FIFA and LaLiga: Brazilian player Vinicius Junior, a Real Madrid striker, has been the target of eight of the nine cases of racism reported by LaLiga this season, according to the president of the organisation, Javier Tebas Medrano.
The information was shared by Medrano this Monday (22/05), after the Spanish league was accused of yet another racist attack against the Brazilian player.
However, the La Liga president did not say whether the attack occurred the day before, when Vini Jr. was called a monkey by Valencia fans. After the confusion caused by the insults, the match was stopped and the player was sent off.
In a statement shared on his Twitter profile, Medrano said that “neither Spain nor LaLiga are racist” and that it is “very unfair to say so”.
“Racial slurs have been reported 9 times this season (8 of which were for insulting Vini Jr.). We always identify the attackers and take the complaint to the sanctioning bodies,” he said.
“We cannot allow the image of a competition to be tarnished which is above all a symbol of unity between peoples, in which more than 200 black players in 42 clubs receive respect and affection from all the fans on a daily basis, racism being one of the factors extremely punctual case (9 complaints) that we are going to eradicate”, he continued.
Also on Sunday, Vini Jr. wrote on his Twitter profile that racism in the Spanish league is recurrent and that “the competition thinks it’s normal, the federation does it too and the opponents encourage it”.
Medrano responded to the publication by saying the player did not know how the league handled racism cases. “Before criticizing and insulting the League, you need to get well informed,” Medrano tweeted.
The CBF reaction
In a statement released on social media this Sunday evening, Ednaldo Rodrigues, president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), asked himself “how long, in the 21st century, will we live with episodes like the one we have just witnessed, once again, in the League?”
Rodrigues also stressed that racism is a crime and showed solidarity with the Brazilian player. “There is no joy where there is racism. Skin color can no longer be a nuisance,” he said.
Lula calls for action
After the racist attack against Vini Jr. in Spain, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed solidarity and urged sports authorities to take serious measures to combat racial discrimination in football.
“FIFA and the Spanish League must take serious measures, we cannot allow fascism and racism to take control of football stadiums,” he said before a press conference in Japan where he attended the G7 summit.
The Ministry of Racial Equality said it had repudiated the racism against Vini Jr. and that the file will notify Spanish and LaLiga authorities of the incident.
“The Brazilian government will not tolerate racism either here or outside Brazil! We will work so that every black Brazilian athlete can practice his sport without suffering violence”, reads the folder.
It wasn’t the first time
In January of this year, Vini Jr. was the victim of another racist act. Hours before a match against rivals Atlético de Madrid, a doll wearing the number 20 Real Madrid shirt worn by Vini Jr. — was hung from a bridge in the Spanish capital, simulating a hanging.
Last year, a Spanish TV show host criticized Vini Jr.’s habit of dancing when celebrating goals and told him he should “stop joking around.”
In December, Valladolid fans insulted the athlete and threw objects at him as he left the pitch.
The attacks against Vinicius Jr. are not isolated. In 2021, of the discrimination cases involving Brazilian athletes abroad, ten were related to racism in football, according to the 8th Annual Report on Racial Discrimination in Football.
Source: Terra
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