Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr. was once again the target of racial abuse on Friday. The Brazilian star played 88 minutes of his team’s win against Real Valladolid.
Vinicius had to go all the way around the field to the Madrid bench when he was substituted. During this time, opposing fans were heard shouting comments towards the player. A video of the incident was posted on Twitter.
Vinicius spoke about the despicable actions of the fans after the match. He even stated that LaLiga is not doing enough to stop these incidents. “The racists continue to go to the matches and see the best club in the world up close and LaLiga continues to do nothing,” Vinicius said.
“I will continue with my head held high and celebrating my victories and those of Madrid. In the end it’s my fault.”
The Spanish league affirms that hate speech does not belong to sport
LaLiga responded to Vinicius’s comments by saying that “hate speech has no place” in the league. “We are investigating last night’s game and, as always in these cases, we will work with the clubs and the relevant authorities to identify and prosecute any guilty of hate speech,” a league statement continued.
“LaLiga has detected videos uploaded to social networks of racist insults from a person, not from groups, and they will be charged as in previous cases.”
Vinicius scored several times this season
Agent Pedro Bravo also made racist comments about Vinicius on Spanish television. The agent told the youngster to “stop acting the monkey” in his goal celebrations. Bravo ultimately apologized for the comments.
The Brazilian youngster was also targeted by Atlético Madrid fans during a game in September. Atleti were quick to condemn the actions after Real’s victory earlier in the season. “We will not allow any individual to hide behind our colors to utter insults of a racist or xenophobic nature,” the club said.
LaLiga closed its investigation into the September incident without taking any action. The league insisted that it was impossible to identify those responsible for the racist chants.
Photo credit: IMAGO / Ricardo Larreina Amador
