During the match between Real Madrid and Valencia, footballer Vinícius Júnior was taunted by some “fans” and called ‘monkey‘. Following the commotion, Vini jnr was sent off with a red card. According to the Brazilian, the measure was not correct.
On May 21, Real Madrid lost 1-0 to Valencia. But as if that wasn’t annoying enough for the Madrid club, the game was overshadowed when Vinícius Júnior was repeatedly the victim of racist statements by Valencian supporters. During the match, he was called ‘mono’ (monkey) several times.
Riots and racist expressions dominate the match
It started with a scuffle in the second half in the penalty area. Valencia supporters verbally abused him, after which the footballer complained to the referee that there was racism from the stands. However, despite this complaint, the referee decided to let the game continue.
Then, in the last minutes of the game, there was a fight on the field. Vinícius Júnior was grabbed by the throat after which he dealt a blow to the opponent. Only the latter was condemned by the referee and Vinícius Júnior was sent off with a red card. For certain people in the audience, this was another reason to curse him.
Also read: Racism in football
Vinícius is fed up and turns to social media
After the game, the bomb exploded on social media. Vinicius wrote on Twitter that Valencia supporters have shown that racism is seen as “normal” within the Spanish league. “The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano and Messi, today belongs to racists.” After his tweet, he received a lot of support from well-known footballers, but also criticism that it is not fair to say that racism is seen as normal within the Spanish league.
Não foi a primeira vez, nem a segunda e nem a terceira. O racismo é o normal na La Liga. A competição acha normal, a Federação também e os adversários incentivam. Lamento muito. O campeonato que já foi de Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano e Messi hoje é dos racistas. Uma nação…
— Vini Jr. (@vinijr) May 21, 2023
Spanish Royal Football Federation fires referees
On Tuesday it was announced that the Spanish Royal Football Association condemned the choice made by referee Ignacio Iglesias Villanueva on Sunday. The referee, together with the five other VAR referees of Sunday’s match, have been suspended and must resign immediately. The reason for this is that the VAR decided to only condemn Vinícius Júnior’s blow but not the fact that he was grabbed by the throat by a Valencia player for it.
Spain is racist
After his first tweet, Vinícius moved this topic to Spain. He said he thinks Spain is a beautiful country that initially welcomed him. However, Spain is now known in Brazil as a country full of racists. La Liga president Javier Tebas Medrano then responded on Twitter that neither Spain nor La Liga is racist. He continued to tweet that this statement was unfair and that the Spanish football league condemns racism as harshly as possible.
A total of nine official racial slurs have been reported in La Liga this football season, eight of them against Vinícius Júnior. The events during the match between Real Madrid and Valencia were the last straw for the player. As a result, discussions are being started again: Is the Spanish Football Association really acting hard enough against racism? And shouldn’t matches be stopped completely in such cases?
Yolanda Díaz, second Vice President of the Government of Spain and Minister of Labour and Social Economy tweeted that “racist chants in soccer stadiums do not represent our country, or any soccer fan. We will continue working to end racism or any other form of discrimination”.
Los cánticos racistas en los estadios de fútbol no representan a nuestro país, ni a ninguna hinchada de fútbol.
Seguiremos trabajando para acabar con el racismo o cualquier otra forma de discriminación. https://t.co/Grz6v5w1tH
— Yolanda Díaz (@Yolanda_Diaz_) May 22, 2023
Spanish politics interferes with football
Equality Minister Irene Montero announced last weekend that a stricter law against racism is being prepared. Montero advocates for this law to take effect immediately.
Necesitamos tramitar ya la Ley contra el Racismo y fortalecer las herramientas institucionales ya disponibles para hacer frente al racismo en el deporte y en nuestra sociedad. https://t.co/rl0S1SZcD8
— Irene Montero (@IreneMontero) May 22, 2023
Both Valencia and Real Madrid have posted a statement on their website to strongly condemn the behavior of these supporters. Real Madrid said it had gone to court because of the seriousness of the events. According to the club, these constitute a direct attack on Spain’s society and democracy. Reference is made to Article 124 of the Spanish Constitution.
Valencia was working with the police to identify the supporters involved. If they are found guilty, at least a lifetime stadium ban hangs over their heads.
The Policia Nacional have since arrested 4 youths for their alleged verbal attack against Vini jnr. They are 19, 21, 23 and 24 years old.
🚩Estas son las imágenes de la detención de los 4 arrestados por #delitodeodio contra el jugador de #fútbol @vinijr
Tienen 19, 21, 23 y 24 años. Varios fueron identificados durante partidos de alto riesgo en dispositivos de @policia para la prevención de violencia en el deporte pic.twitter.com/X8jaGrZHRe
— Policía Nacional (@policia) May 23, 2023
