The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has condemned this Sunday the racist insults directed at Real Madrid striker Vinicius Junior in the match against Valencia at the Mestalla, and has asked the authorities to take action.
“I want to make a gesture of solidarity with Vinicius, a young man who is undoubtedly the best player at Real Madrid, and who suffers repeated attacks. I hope that FIFA and other entities take measures to prevent racism from taking over football.”Lula has indicated through his profile on the social network Twitter.
Vinicius has criticized LaLiga and the Spanish soccer fans for “normal racism” in the competition, after racist insults marked the duel against Valencia, for which the Brazilian player refused to play at the Mestalla.
“It was not the first time, nor the second, nor the third. Racism is normal in LaLiga. The competition believes that it is normal, the Federation also and the opponents encourage it. I’m sorry. The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano and Messi today belongs to racists,” he wrote on his Twitter account.
Vinicius pointed out that from Brazil they see Spain as a nation of racists. “A beautiful nation, which welcomed me and which I love, but that agreed to export to the world the image of a racist country. I feel sorry for the Spaniards who disagree, but today, in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists,” he added.
The president of the employers’ association, Javier Tebas, has responded to the “insult”, asking the footballer not to allow himself to be “manipulated”: “Before criticizing and insulting LaLiga, it is necessary that you inform yourself properly Vinicius. Do not let yourself be manipulated and make sure to fully understand each other’s competencies and the work we have been doing together”, he concluded.
The crossing on social networks was followed by Vinicius replying to Thebes’ message, to whom he has asked for “actions and punishments”. “Once again, instead of criticizing racists, the president of LaLiga appears on social media to attack me. No matter how much you talk and pretend not to read, the image of your championship is shaken,” said the player.
For his part, the Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, has been “sad” by the “racist” reaction of the Mestalla fans” towards the visiting Vinicius, a “very serious and unacceptable problem” in Spanish football for the who has asked for forcefulness in the measures.
“I spoke to him during the game, the atmosphere was very hot, very bad and I asked him if I could continue. The fact that I think I have to remove it because the atmosphere is racist does not seem right to me. What happened to me today did not It has never happened to me. It is unacceptable. The Spanish League has a problem, which is not Vinicius, it is the victim of a very serious problem”, he said at a press conference.
However, LaLiga has requested all the available images to open an investigation, indicating that “once the investigation is concluded, in the event of detecting a hate crime, LaLiga would proceed to take the appropriate legal actions.”