I’ts burning in Spain! Racism is unfortunately a hot topic again, after last night’s incident involving Vinicius Jr. (again) and Valencia fans. Football and beyond rallied around Vinicius Junior today, demanding action against racism, after the Real Madrid star was abused once again in Spain’s La Liga. The player got the red card in injury time or hitting Hugo Duro during a brawl, and he was even more furious after the game.„It wasn’t the first time, nor the second, nor the third. Racism is normal in La Liga. The competition thinks it’s normal, the Federation does too and the opponents encourage it. I’m so sorry. The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano and Messi today belongs to racists“ he tweeted, adding that in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists.The world goes crazy after Vini’s bitter night at MestallaHe didn’t have to wait to long to get a strong reply from La Liga president Javier Tebas.”Since those who should not explain to you what it is and what it can do La Liga in cases of racism, we have tried to explain it to you, but you have not shown up for either of the two agreed dates that you requested yourself. Before criticizing and insulting La Liga, it is necessary that you inform yourself properly Vini Jr. Do not let yourself be manipulated and make sure you fully understand each other’s competencies and the work we have been doing together“ said the Spaniard.Mais uma vez, em vez de criticar racistas, o presidente da LaLiga aparece nas redes sociais para me atacar. Por mais que você fale e finja não ler, a imagem do seu campeonato está abalada. Veja as respostas do seus posts e tenha uma surpresa…Omitir-se só faz com que você se… https://t.co/RGO9AZ24IA— Vini Jr. (@vinijr) May 21, 2023 Vinicius didn’t like the reply (but didn’t denied it either), and tweeted:”Once again, instead of criticizing racists, the president of La Liga appears on social media to attack me. As much as you talk and pretend not to read, the image of your championship is shaken. See the responses to your posts and have a surprise…Omitting yourself only makes you equal to racists. I’m not your friend to talk about racism. I want actions and punishments. Hashtag doesn’t move me“ he said.Racist Abuse to Vinicius Jr once again, and another time in La Liga Effigys, Racist Banners and ChantsValencia, Mallorca, Atleti, Barca and ValladolidMario Balotelli had racism follow him throughout his entire career too, and many others. Tragic man pic.twitter.com/NJAeVXQmPe— 𝙇𝙞𝙖𝙢🇧🇪 (@OfficialVizeh) May 21, 2023 But Tebas is not the man who is afraid to confront. He quicly replied:”Neither Spain nor La Liga is racist, it is unfair to say this. At La Liga we report and go after racism in the strongest possible way within our remit. We have reported nine instances of racist insults this season (eight have been against Vinicius). We always identify the thugs responsible and take the complaints all the way to the relevant bodies who have power to punish them. No matter how few they are, our efforts are relentless. We cannot allow the reputation of a competition which is above all a symbol of unity between communities, where over 200 black players from 42 clubs are welcomed with respect and love from fans every week, to be tarnished. Cases of racism are an extremely rare occurrence (nine reports) which we are committed to eliminating altogether“ replied Tebas.Rage Against Racism: Vinicius gets sent off in a loss to Valencia, as home fans abuse Real Madrid forwardIn the meantime, Valencia officially announced that they will ban fans from the stadium for life, who made racist gestures at Vinícius Jr. Real’s president Florentino Perez has met the player to ‘show him his support and affection’, and assure him that the club will do all they can in order to protect him. Even Barcelona’s coach Xavi had some strong words:”Football is the only sport where insults are accepted. I don’t see insults in other professions. It’s a message to the president of La Liga and the Federation. I would have stopped the game. We have to stop this and educate people” he said.##EDITORS_CHOICE##La Liga also published a statement on four pages explaining in detail what they have done to fight racism.“LaLiga, within its remit, has been fighting and leading the battle against violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sport for years, as evidenced by the many initiatives that have been put in place in recent years, especially the cases brought before the courts and before the State Commission against Violence, Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Sport. La Liga’s objective is zero violence in sport and in order to achieve this, various prevention, detection and reporting practices are put into action every matchday, which are then reported to the State Commission against Violence, Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Sport, as well as to the RFEF’s (Royal Spanish Football Federation) Competition Committee. In Spain, the applicable regulation for the punishment of racist behaviour is provided for in Law 19/2007, of July 11, against violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sport. Article 28 attributes the power to impose sanctions to the Government Delegation, the Secretary of State for Security, the Ministry of the Interior and the Council of Ministers, without prejudice to the possible powers of the Autonomous Communities. Therefore, legally La Liga is limited to reporting the facts and events, which is what it does. LaLiga can once again only report the facts, which is what it does. With regard to the actions of the referees during the match in relation to behaviour of this kind, LaLiga has no jurisdiction over such acts. This is the responsibility of the RFEF, who are responsible for refereeing” reads the statement.##NAJAVA_MECA_7268643##La Liga also emphasized that they have taken cases of racism to the Hate Prosecutor’s Office.“Recently, in view of the fact that some of La Liga’s complaints have been shelved by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and due to the lack of uniformity in the grounds, La Liga has decided to file complaints directly with the Courts of Instruction”. La Liga also gave a detailed account of all complaints (13 of them, 9 this season) and what happened to them with the Prosecutor.
