“It was not the first time, nor the second, nor the third. Racism is normal in La Liga,” Brazilian star striker Vinicius Jr wrote on social media after receiving racial slurs from the stands in Sunday’s defeat at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has joined football clubs and players in coming out to support star striker Vinícius Júnior after he once more faced racist abuse in a Spanish league.
According to reports, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will call the Ambassador of Spain to ask for explanations regarding the racist attack against the player.
“The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano (Ronaldo) and (Lionel) Messi today belongs to the racists,” the Real Madrid player stated.
A video during the game shows the player confronting Valencia fans while other players on the field tries to stop him. Valencia fans were filmed making monkey chants toward Vinícius, who is Black.
“I’m sorry for the Spaniards who don’t agree, but today, in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists.”
Real Madrid fans poured in to support the player who has faced racism multiple times. The president of Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez, also met Vinicius to show him his support.
The Spanish club, in a tweet, said Pérez informed Vini “of all the steps that are being taken in his defence”. The club’s manager Carlo Ancelotti also slammed the decision to show a red card to the player.
Meanwhile, La Liga president Javier Tebas responded to Vinicius Jr’s comments by asking him to be more informed about what can be done in cases of racism.
In response to Tebas, Vini said, “Once again, instead of criticizing racists, the president of LaLiga appears on social media to attack me.”
“I’m not your friend to talk about racism. I want actions and punishments. Hashtag doesn’t move me,” he added.
