Vinicius Jr. and the racist abuse in Spanish football: Everything that has happened so far

In one sentence on Sunday, 21 May, 2023, Vinicius Jr, one of the most exhilarating footballers on the planet, showed LaLiga, Spanish football’s top division, the mirror. “The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, today belongs to racists.” The Brazilian posted these words in the aftermath of yet another episode of racist insults aimed at him. This one came at Valencia’s Mestalla Stadium a couple of hours ago where he was targeted with abuse outside the stadium and then during the game. Worryingly for the league, without Ronaldo and Messi - two of its biggest stars at one stage - and his club Real Madrid, the youngster ended the social media post with: “I am strong and I will go all the way against the racists. Even if it’s far from here.” The Athletic reported Vinicius Jr was considering leaving Real Madrid and the league altogether given the repeated racist insults, lack of action and not enough backing from the club. What happened during Valencia vs Real Madrid at Mestalla?

The racist abuse started well before kick-off. As Real Madrid players got off the bus and made their way into the stadium, a group of fans yelled out, “Vinicius, you’re a monkey.” This kind of abuse, and worse, continued during the game. In the 72nd minute, Vinicius confronted fans behind one of the goals, pointing directly at them and accusing them of racially abusing him.

Resumen en una fotografía de la putrefacción de esta competición, la cámara persiguiendo a la víctima y no al culpable pic.twitter.com/qkbRSH0h5Z

— Bonet (@BonetMM) May 21, 2023

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“You, you, you’re the one who called me a monkey,” he seemed to tell the fan(s) while imitating an ape gesture, hands tucked under his armpits, as players from both sides joined in. His teammate Lucas Vazquez confronted the fans saying, “shitty racist.” The Brazilian then asked for the referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea to intervene. And the referee did. Play was stopped for six minutes and police officers were seen in the crowd and two fans were removed from their respective places. Vinicius Jr, visibly distressed, returned after brief conversation with manager Carlo Ancelotti and the referee. In the later stages of the match, that Valencia won 1-0, Vinicius Jr was shown a red card during a fight. The VAR noticed him raising his hand towards Valencia’s Hugo Duro. The video official did not, however, point out Duro having his arm around Vinicius Jr’s neck just before. As per the rules, Vinicius Jr arguably deserved to be shown a red card but being the only one sent off was a poor image of the league. As he walked off the pitch, gesturing the number two to indicate the club possibly being relegated to the second division, more monkey chants could be heard from the home fans. What was said in the immediate aftermath of the game?

"This is unacceptable. La Liga has a problem"

Carlo Ancelotti asked Vinicius Jr if he wanted to continue to play football after the player was subject to racism. pic.twitter.com/thHSZfASbA

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 22, 2023

Immediately after the loss, Ancelotti, who has been in football for 47 years, opted against speaking about football. Instead, the Italian said, “I don’t want to speak about football today, but about what happened. That is more important than a defeat. “What happened today cannot happen. I asked him (Vinicius Jr) but he wanted to continue. I told him I did not think it was fair that he had to play this game: ‘You are not the guilty party, you are the victim’. He continued to play. On top of that, they show him a red card which makes no sense, as it was not an aggression. “We have a problem, he does not have a problem. For me, Vinicius is the greatest player in the world, the strongest. LaLiga has a problem. With this racism, for me, they have to stop the game. There is no other way. “Vini is very sad, angry, but more sad. It cannot happen.” Thibaut Courtois, the Real Madrid goalkeeper, said he would have supported his teammate if he had decided to walk off the pitch. What are the previous examples of racist abuse in LaLiga? Some of the most notable cases of racist abuse in Spanish league are: Dario Silva of Malaga faced battery charges in 2000 after punching an Oviedo fan for allegedly hurling anti-Black slurs at him. Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o was booked for lobbing a ball at Getafe fans in 2004 following monkey noises from the stands. He would go on to celebrate some of his goals that season by making ape-like gestures to parody the racist chants.

In 2006, Eto’o threatened to leave the pitch in protest against racist chants at Real Zaragoza’s La Romareda stadium. He stayed on but the club were fined 9,000 euros. In 2005, a banana was thrown at Espanyol goalkeeper Carlos Kameni at Atletico Madrid’s Vicente Calderon stadium. In 2014, Brazil’s Dani Alves also had a banana thrown in his direction at Villarreal’s El Madrigal stadium. Alves peeled the fruit and took a bite. A man was later arrested, fined 6,000 euros and banned from attending football games for two years. The Valencia-based club was also fined 12,000 euros. In 2019, a second-division game between Rayo Vallecano and Albacete became the first to be cancelled because of offensive chants directed at players. Left-wing Rayo ultras had called Albacete’s Roman Zozulya - a white Ukrainian - a “nazi”. Since 2020, there have been multiple official reports of racist abuse during LaLiga games. Iñaki Williams of Athletic Bilbao was abused at Espanyol, his brother Nico Williams, also of Athletic Bilbao, at Real Betis; Carlos Akapo in Granada, Samuel Chukwueze at Real Mallorca.

In 2021, Valencia players walked off the pitch in protest at the alleged racial abuse of Mouctar Diakhaby by Cadiz’s Juan Cala. The players returned after 20 minutes and startlingly finished the game without Diakhaby. It was reported Cala had reportedly said, “Negro de mierda” (roughly translated to ‘shitty black’). Following an investigation, LaLiga found no evidence that Cala had racially abused the 26-year-old from Guinea. Vinicius Jr, alone, has had nine cases of official racist abuse across Spain ranging from Barcelona (twice), Madrid (twice vs Atletico Madrid), Mallorca (twice), Sevilla (vs Real Betis), Valladolid, Pamplona (vs Osasuna) in two years. What is the protocol around racist abuse in football? As per FIFA protocol surrounding racist abuse, fans are warned at first. It was followed at the Mestalla with the racist fans removed and announcements made over the loudspeaker. As the fans were warned the game could be suspended, they whistled in anger. The next step, if the racist abuse continues, is for the players to walk off the field and warnings of the game being suspended completely. Vinicius Jr had heard the abuse throughout the game and wanted to walk off, informed Thibaut Courtois, but tried to keep playing. Until he had had enough. In the third step, when the match restarts, if the abuse persists, the match will be stopped and three points will be awarded to the opponent. What did Vinicius Jr say after the Valencia game?

Vinicius explota en Instagram. pic.twitter.com/h1rFePPGNo

— Arancha Rodríguez (@AranchaMOBILE) May 21, 2023

On Twitter, Vinicius Jr wrote, “It was not the first time, nor the second, nor the third. Racism is normal in LaLiga. The competition considers it normal, the federation considers it normal and the rivals encourage it.” “The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano (Ronaldo) and (Lionel) Messi today belongs to the racists. “A beautiful nation, which welcomed me and which I love, but which accepted to export to the world the image of a racist country. I am sorry for those Spaniards who disagree but today, in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists. “I am strong and I will go all the way against the racists. Even if it is far away from here,” he added. “What is missing to criminalize these people? And punish the clubs sportively? Why don’t the sponsors charge LaLiga? Don’t the televisions bother to broadcast this barbarity every weekend?” Vinicius said. How has the league responded to the racist abuse? [caption id=“attachment_12638752” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Players show a banner reading in Spanish, “Racists, keep out of football” before Real Valladolid vs Barcelona at the Jose Zorrilla stadium in Valladolid. AP[/caption] LaLiga have requested all available images to investigate and take action. “If any hate crime is identified, we will take the appropriate legal action,” it said in a statement. The league president, Javier Tebas, responded to Vinicius Jr by asking him to be more informed on what can be done in cases of racism.

1. Neither Spain nor @LaLiga is racist, it is unfair to say this.

2. At @LaLiga we report and go after racism in the strongest possible way within our remit.

3. We have reported nine instances of racist insults this season (eight have been against @vinijr). We always identify… https://t.co/KFXHOJv6cb

— Javier Tebas Medrano (@Tebasjavier) May 22, 2023

“Neither Spain nor LaLiga are racist,” Tebas said in a Twitter exchange. “It is very unfair to say that. At LaLiga we denounce and tackle racism with all the toughness within our powers.” “Since those who should explain to you what it is and what LaLiga can do in cases of racism, we have tried to explain it ourselves, but you have not shown up for either of the two agreed dates that you requested yourself.” “Before you criticise and slander LaLiga you need to inform yourself properly @Vinijr. Don’t let yourself be manipulated and make sure you understand each other’s competences and the work we have been doing together,” he added in tweets. Tebas decried not having enough power to do more against the racist fans. He resoundingly said the problem of racist and xenophobic chanting “would be resolved within months” if they had the power. “The federation and LaLiga are two different entities. We don’t have the authority to expel people from the stadiums; they do. We would take action if we had more authority to sanction and punish offenders. We would close the stadiums, ban the fans, but we only have responsibility from outside the stadium. “We have filed grievances about racism that ended in just fines. I hope that we can be given the authority to take action,” Tebas said. “Because I think if we had the authority to take measures, we would end racism in the stadiums within months.” Later, Tebas apologised for his possible tone and aggressive manner in a conversation with ESPN Brazil. “I have to be sorry because I think my message and the intent with which I wrote it, an important part of it was not understood, especially in Brazil.” “My intent was not to attack Vinicius, but rather to clarify that Vinicius just one month ago made a video supporting the actions of LaLiga [against racism].” How has Spanish football responded to the case? RFEF, the Spanish FA, chief Luis Rubiales admitted they have a racism problem. “The first thing is to recognise that we have a problem in our country,” Rubiales said at a press conference in Madrid on Monday. It is “a serious problem that also stains an entire team, an entire fan base, an entire club, an entire country”. “Probably Vinicius is more right than we think and we all need to do more about racism,” Rubiales said. What has been the action by Spanish football and police? Spanish Football Federation’s Competition Committee fined Valencia 45,000 euros and were ordered to play five games with a partial stadium ban. Additionally, the red card handed to Vinicius Jr was rescinded. The VAR official in question was suspended. Valencia have complained that the punishment was ‘disproportionate’. They also complained that they were not given a chance to defend themselves before the ruling. The club said they had been working with authorities throughout and had banned one person for life. “Valencia wants to express its complete disagreement and indignation over the unfair and disproportionate penalty imposed by the competition committee,” the club said in a statement. “Valencia wants to publicly denounce that the evidence shown by the committee contradicts what the police and La Liga say. This sanction is based on evidence that the club has not been able to see.” With the club’s co-operation, three youths were arrested on suspicion of a hate crime with all being banned for life. They were then set free on the condition that they be present when required as the investigation continues. Meanwhile, in Madrid, four other people were detained for hanging an effigy of Vinicius Jr off a highway bridge in January. A ruling on their fate is yet to be made by the courts. What have Real Madrid done after the abuse? [caption id=“attachment_12643872” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Players of Real Madrid wear jerseys with the name of team mate Vinicius Junior. AP[/caption] Vinicius Jr’s parent club Real Madrid filed a race crime complaint following the insults. “Real Madrid believes that such attacks also constitute a hate crime, and has therefore filed the corresponding report with the Attorney General’s Office, specifically with the Prosecutor’s Office against crimes of hatred and discrimination, in order for the facts to be investigated and for those responsible to be held accountable,” the club said in a statement. “Given the seriousness of the events that took place, Real Madrid has appealed to the Attorney General’s Office, without prejudice to its standing as a private prosecutor in any proceedings that may be initiated,” it added. In another statement couple of hours later, Real Madrid took a shot at RFEF for the inaction. “We are surprised by the comments made by the president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, because, as he is the head of Spanish football and the refereeing profession, he has not allowed any decisive action to be taken, in accordance with FIFA protocols, to prevent the situation that has arisen. The image of our football is seriously damaged and marred in the eyes of the whole world,” said the statement. “His inaction has resulted in the helplessness and defencelessness of our player Vinicius. The referees, instead of acting with decisiveness and applying the regulatory protocols, have chosen in the majority of the cases to abstain and avoid taking the decisions that corresponded to them.  Yesterday, the referee and those in charge of the VAR evaded their responsibilities and made unfair decisions based on incomplete images, which were not seen completely, which were biased and which resulted in the direct sending off of our player Vinicius Júnior.” “Unfortunately, what happened yesterday and the handling of it by the referees and the VAR is not perceived as an isolated incident, but as something that has been happening in many of our matches. The victim who experiences the crime can never be held responsible for the offence.” How has the football world reacted to Vinicius’ racist abuse?

Ronaldo Nazario, former Real Madrid player and now a majority shareholder at Real Valladolid, posted on Instagram: “Once again an episode of racism in La Liga. As long as there is impunity, there’ll be racism.” “Unacceptable that refs, RFEF, authorities are left without action and that fans applaud such absurdity. It’s enough. Vini, count on me in your fight. In our fight.”

🗣️ Kylian Mbappé to Vinícius Jr.: “You're not alone. We are with you & we support you.” 🤝✨ pic.twitter.com/IPnZXidzg6

— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) May 21, 2023

Frenchman and PSG captain Kylian Mbappe posted on Instagram, “You are not alone. We are with you and we support you.”

Eder Militao defends Vinicius Jr. and speaks out against racism in LaLiga. pic.twitter.com/tGhaacbRxs

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 22, 2023

Vinicius Jr’s teammate and fellow Brazilian Eder Militao expressed his support for the forward. “It’s a disgrace! To suffer racism, to defend yourself and then be sent off trying to defend yourself! How long do we have to put up with this?”. Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez said in a press conference, “It’s a shame that these things happen in 2023 – it’s unacceptable. It’s not about club badges or colours, it’s about people and we have to condemn any act of racism like the one that happened at Mestalla with Vinicius.” Barcelona defender Jules Kounde tweeted, “Discriminatory insults should not be tolerated or justified. To say that a player’s behaviour can provoke racist reactions is to shift the debate. We must focus on solutions because the problem is unfortunately recurrent and tarnishes the image of this League.”

Les insultes à caractère discriminatoire ne doivent pas être tolérées ou faire l’objet de justifications.
Dire que le comportement d’un joueur peut provoquer des réactions racistes, c’est déplacer le débat. Nous devons nous concentrer sur les solutions car le problème est… pic.twitter.com/qErZf1iQG0

— Jules Kounde (@jkeey4) May 22, 2023

“These behaviours are punishable by law. Stadium banning, alone, would be all too easy. What sanctions exist beyond football? Are they actually applied? Are they sufficient? Can we imagine more educational and general interest measures? “Ignorance is the worst of evils, but it can be cured. I remain convinced that everyone is able to reflect on their past behavior, to take stock of the harm it has caused and to change for the better. All my support @vinijr”

Me sinto decepcionado e muito triste ao ver, envergonhado, como se repetem episódios de racismo com meu companheiro de Seleção Vinícius Junior.

Não podemos continuar tolerando esse problema que transcende o esporte, afeta toda a sociedade e segue impune. Não basta uma… pic.twitter.com/Xkx0LL0Aht

— Casemiro (@Casemiro) May 22, 2023

We must do more to protect our players, and to protect our game @fifacom @laliga @uefa @bundesliga_de @serieA @fifpro @premierleague @ligue1ubereats@vinijr - we all stand with you. ✊🏾

— Raphaël Varane (@raphaelvarane) May 22, 2023

Racism has no place in football or society! @LaLiga need to take serious and unequivocal action to stop this from happening. All my support to @vinijr pic.twitter.com/1bsgN7EtTZ

— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11) May 22, 2023

How many times do we need to see this young man subjected to this shit? @LaLiga @UEFA @FIFAcom pic.twitter.com/FsEJUZuvMY

— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) May 21, 2023

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed his support for Vinicius and called on FIFA to stop racism in football. “I would like to express my solidarity with our Brazilian player, a poor boy who succeeded in life and is potentially becoming one of the best players in the world, certainly the best at Real Madrid. And he is attacked in every stadium he plays in,” he told a press conference. “I think it is important that FIFA, the Spanish league and leagues in other countries take real action, because we cannot allow fascism and racism to dominate football stadiums.”

Lewis Hamilton defending Vinicius Jr against racism 🙌 #TEAMLH #ViniciusJr pic.twitter.com/zQdqGrCzNr

— Aminne (Team LH) (@Aminne_elk) May 22, 2023

Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton sent Vinicius a virtual fist bump on Instagram, adding: “Standing with you @vinjr.”

“Full solidarity to Vinicius. There is no place for racism in football or in society and FIFA stands by all players who have found themselves in such a situation. Events during the match between Valencia and Real Madrid show that this needs to be the case.” FIFA’s Infantino … pic.twitter.com/kBlzwuHXpo

— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) May 22, 2023

FIFA chief Gianni Infantino called for LaLiga to strictly enforce the rules surrounding racist abuse.

Preto e imponente. O Cristo Redentor ficou assim há pouco. Uma ação de solidariedade que me emociona. Mas quero, sobretudo, inspirar e trazer mais luz à nossa luta.

Agradeço demais toda a corrente de carinho e apoio que recebi nos últimos meses. Tanto no Brasil quanto mundo… pic.twitter.com/zVBcD4eF8k

— Vini Jr. (@vinijr) May 22, 2023

Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer statue, Rio de Janeiro’s iconic landmark, had its lights switched off on Monday night in a show of solidarity.

🙏🏾🖤 RAPHINHA 🙏🏾🖤 pic.twitter.com/5M4cBU4Rjd

— Vini Jr. (@vinijr) May 23, 2023

During Real Valladolid vs Barcelona, Raphinha came off the pitch with show of support on his T-shirt. On the night, LaLiga teams held out banners that read, “racists out of football.” [caption id=“attachment_12644082” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Rodrygo raised his right fist after scoring the winner for Real Madrid against Rayo Vallecano. The game comes few days after racist abuse was aimed at his Real Madrid teammate Vinicius Jr at Valencia. AP[/caption] After scoring the winner against Rayo Vallecano, Rodrygo did the “Black Power” salute aimed at Vinicius who sat in the president’s box. Before kick off, Real Madrid players in the men’s, women’s and basketball teams wore “Vini Jr.” jerseys to express their support. The fans unfurled a banner that read, “We are all Vinicius. Enough is enough!” while applauding him in the 20th minute - the number that he wears at the Bernabeu club. “All the support for Vini was beautiful. What happened to him can happen to many players. We know that it has happened a lot of times in soccer. But we are happy because we see that the world is uniting to fight this,” said Rodrygo. Read all the Latest News, Trending News,  Cricket News, Bollywood News,  India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.