Barcelona star Ilkay Gundogan has defended Real Madrid counterpart Vinicius Junior against claims that he deliberately tries to wind up his opponents with his style of play.
Earlier in the week, Barcelona Director and Spokesperson Mikel Camps made headlines for tweeting that Vinicius deserved a good slap, and that ‘it’s not racism’, for which Vice-President Rafa Yuste has since apologised. It occurred after an incident when Real Madrid were 2-0 up against Braga, and Vinicius brought out a number of step-overs.
During an interview with Esport3 ahead of El Clasico, Gundogan was asked whether he thought of Vinicius as a provocative player.
“Someone may interpret Vinicius’ actions as a provocation, but for me, honestly, they are not. Evidently, he already knows that if he does these things he will be whistled.”
“But maybe he likes being whistled at, I don’t know…”
It’s something Vinicius has admitted in court. The Brazilian was honest during a court testimony that he enjoys winding up opposition fans as it gives him extra motivation.
However on numerous occasions, fans have not understood both where the line is and how low racism is. That much is evident, given the treatment that has been received by the Brazilian in the last few years, and Camps’ tweet shows there is some way to go in that department.
Image via JORGE GUERRERO/AFP via Getty Images
Vinicius is a brat, regardless of his “race”.