The racist abuse suffered by Vinicius Junior has gained global attention, even reaching the G7 summit.
On Sunday night, Vinicius was called a monkey by Valencia fans, at least one of which has now been punished. Vinicius criticised the abuse on social media, saying he had to agree that Spain was a country of racists, and getting into a Twitter spat with La Liga President Javier Tebas – instigated by the latter it should be noted.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva has even gotten involved making a short statement on the matter.
“It is not fair that a poor young man who succeeded in life and who is becoming one of the best footballers [in the world]. We cannot allow fascism and racism to take over football stadiums.”
🚨URGENTE: Presidente Lula se solidariza com Vini Jr. após o jogador sofrer racismo em partida da La Liga na Espanha:
“Um menino pobre que venceu na vida. Um dos melhores jogadores do mundo e do Real Madrid. Não vamos permitir que o racismo tome conta dos estádios de futebol”. pic.twitter.com/ReXTgNncG7
— CHOQUEI (@choquei) May 21, 2023
He was just one of a number of politicians to get involved though. As per Marca, the Ministry for Racial Equality in Brazil came out and said “we will not tolerate racism” and that they will try to ensure that “all black Brazilian athletes can practice their sport without experiencing violence.”
“We repudiate a new racist attack against Vini Jr. We will notify the Spanish authorities and La Liga. The Brazilian government will not tolerate racism here or outside of Brazil!”
Meanwhile the Mayor of Madrid, right-wing Isabel Ayuso’s contribution to the discussion was to say that football stadiums cannot be converted into this, but also that ‘Spain is not a racist country’, referencing Vinicius’ words to the contrary.
The Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, left-wing Eduardo Paes, where Vinicius came through at Flamengo, responded to La Liga President Javier Tebas’ comments online calling him ‘a son of a b****, you want to blame the victim, imbecile.’
The hope is that at the tenth time of asking, the racial abuse will be taken seriously by the Spanish authorities. Having been turned into a global issue by Brazilian politicians, Lula, and international media, and been publicly addressed by Vinicius, there is more than enough in pressure in order to force some change.
