Real Madrid call out RFEF President Luis Rubiales following statements on Vinicius Junior racism

Real Madrid have released a second statement on the racism suffered by Vinicius Junior on Sunday night, this time thanking the world for their support and reaction. However they did call out RFEF President Luis Rubiales for his words on the matter, placing some of the blame on him for Sunday’s events.

Los Blancos admitted they were ‘surprised’ by Rubiales comments, saying that he has ‘not allowed any action to be taken’ in order to put a stop to those events. They characterised the image of Spanish football as ‘damaged and marred’ in the eyes of the whole world.

Rubiales had called a press conference in order to condemn the incidents, claiming that while there is just one discriminatory insult, Spanish football has a problem. He also admitted that the RFEF as a body had to do more.

Los Blancos went on to describe his ‘inaction’ as a key factor in the ‘helplessness and defencelessness’ of Vinicius on Sunday night, who looked understandably emotional in the face of yet more racial abuse. They called on him to take more action.

While this is no doubt a credible reaction to Rubiales’ words, the strange lack of condemnation of La Liga President Javier Tebas’ words, which called out Vinicius not the racism, hints that there may be political undertones to the statement. Hopefully that is not the case, but if racism continues to be seen through tribal goggles in Spain, it has little hope being eradicated.

Full Statement:

Real Madrid C.F. would like to express its gratitude for the countless expressions of love, solidarity and affection received from all over the world for our player Vinicius Junior.

Attacks of hatred and racism must be eradicated from our society for good and this is what has been voiced by figures from all walks of life and from different national and international institutions after yesterday’s events at the Mestalla stadium.

Our club is grateful to world football’s highest authority, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who has said that matches where these hate crimes are committed should be stopped and suspended.

We are also grateful to Brazil President Lula Da Silva, who is calling for serious action to tackle this problem and whose victim is, as he said, “a young man who has succeeded in life and who is developing into one of the best footballers in the world”.

His teammates have also expressed their solidarity and support for Vinicius, those at Real Madrid as well as those at other teams around the world. Legends, players and coaches, some of them as prominent on the international scene as Ronaldo Nazario, Mbappe, Rio Ferdinand, Neymar, Kaka, Jadon Sancho, Lineker, Roberto Carlos and Casemiro, as well as dozens and dozens of other world football stars.

The unfortunate events that have occurred have circled the globe and brought shame on our football, as they are reflected and denounced in the mainstream international media. The Washington Post and L’Equipe, to cite just a few symbolic examples, have underlined in a very forceful manner the serious problem facing Spanish football.

And finally, 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.

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 Junior.

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.

For all these reasons, we are deeply concerned that no action has been taken by the Spanish Football Federation in this period of time, despite the clear and repeated warning signs that we have been denouncing through our club.

In view of the seriousness of the current situation and the image that Spanish football is portraying to the world, Real Madrid hopes that there will be immediate and decisive action by all those with responsibility and competence to tackle the evils of racism, xenophobia and hatred. Our club will continue to strive to ensure that the values that have sustained our history continue to serve as a model of coexistence and exemplary behaviour.