Ahead of Brazil and Spain’s friendly aimed at addressing racism under the slogan ‘one same skin’, Laurie Cunningham’s son, Sergio, has spoken of the racial abuse suffered by his father in the 1970s and 1980s as a footballer. That interview came off the back of an emotional press conference given by Vinicius Junior. If anyone was in any doubt about the symbolic nature of Vinicius’ battle against racism, it was lost on nobody on Monday afternoon.
Cunningham played for Real Madrid for three years after joining from West Brom in 1979, before two loan spells with Manchester United and Sporting Gijon. He would go on to play in France and Belgium too, having two more spells in Spain with Rayo Vallecano. He was also the first black player to play for England, earning six caps.
Sergio Cunningham told Cadena SER on Monday night that his father had suffered molotov cocktail attacks on his house, death threats in the form of bullets in the post, and even had someone cut the breaks in his car at one point while in England.
“Seeing a black man in an England shirt was the biggest insult in the world.”
“Listening to Vinicius, my heart drops. What my father experienced was a reflection of the society of that time… The club directors said that black people did not move well in the mud or that they had no endurance.”
Sergio Cunningham, Laurie's son, on Cadena SER:
"There is a quote by Michael Robinson that said that thanks to Laurie Cunningham, black children can dream of being someone in England." pic.twitter.com/0HVkncfiXm
— Football España (@footballespana_) March 26, 2024
“My father was born in the 70s in the United Kingdom at a time when racism was a reflection of society. You would walk around England and see signs prohibiting the entry of Irish, blacks and dogs. Imagine when my father wore the shirt of the English team.”
“When my father came to Real Madrid in 1979 he did not feel that racism in Spain. I’m sure he’d be surprised that we’re still talking about these issues.”
🎙️ ‼️ Charlamos con @SergioCunningh3, hijo del mítico Laurie Cunningham, el primer jugador negro de la selección inglesa
👏 "Michael Robinson decía que gracias a mi padre los niños negros pueden soñar con ser futbolistas"
👎 "Llegaron a enviarle una bala o cortarle los frenos" pic.twitter.com/kClCQTLZPV
— El Larguero (@ellarguero) March 25, 2024
Incidents of racial abuse had been present at times in the Spanish game over the past decade, but either went unreported or were less frequent. However Vinicius has unmasked a nasty undercurrent that has only snowballed, regardless of the efforts to tackle it. Vinicius has demanded harsher measures for those found to have committed hate crimes.
