What has happened?
Vinicius Junior has been subject of abuse in many cases throughout this season. He has raised the awareness and has been supported by many, but it seems that groups of fans of different teams prefer to continue their unfriendly and negative behavior. The matches where he has been attacked include many like the game vs Valladolid, Mallorca, Atletico Madrid, Osasuna, etc. The clubs and La Liga have tried taking measures to prevent future events like these but it seems like more should be done.
Atlético Madrid fans hung an effigy of the Brazilian winger from a bridge in a sickening act of racism before a game against Real Madrid. In another instance of abuse, Valladolid fans were heard making monkey noises at the player earlier in the season; the same happened in Mallorca. It has been claimed that Vinicius’ style and way of celebrating goals by dancing is somehow provoking fans into making these decisions: an argument of the highest absurdity that only seeks to defend those who commit such hateful acts; racism has no place in football, and that’s final.
Then, he was attacked at El Sadar, the home of Osasuna. Unfortunately in El Sadar, the abuse took a much darker twist, as the player was verbally abused during the moment of silence observed before the game. He was also whistled heavily during the entire game. The players lined the centre circle, as is customary when carrying out such an act of remembrance, yet one person could audibly be heard breaking the silence to shout the words “hijo de p*ta” (son of a b*****). Guillermo Rai of The Athletic reported the news that the player had been the subject of the insult, saying it was “atrocious”.
LaLiga’s new plan
LaLiga Santander released an anti-racism plan at Real Madrid away matches that demands tougher punishments for fans who are found to racially insult the player. It came into effect as of the game against Osasuna. The league have decided to adopt a new strategy in an attempt to tackle the issue with the president Tebas stating: “LaLiga cannot have a player who is viciously insulted in every stadium that he plays in. It is clear that we have a problem and we must find a solution”.
For now, the operation will focus solely on Real Madrid’s away matches, where such insults have been continuously detected, with Vinícius the main target. Deploying the measures in matches involving other teams hasn’t been ruled out, but isn’t deemed necessary as things stand. In their efforts to stamp out the insults, LaLiga have proposed infiltrating three or four spectators in the most ‘partizan’ stands in each ground, whose job it is to report the insults and identify the perpetrators.
The latter part of the plan is the most crucial one, as has already been seen in two earlier cases. In 2020, an Espanyol fan who hurled xenophobic abuse towards Athletic Club attacker Iñaki Williams was identified, with the Barcelona Hate Crimes Prosecutor’s Office requesting that the individual serve a two-year prison sentence, pay a fine of almost €6,000 and be banned from entering sports venues for five years. On the flip side, however, Vinicius was the target of racist insults from a supporter at Camp Nou in October 2021 and, despite the fact that it was clearly recorded by television cameras, the prosecution closed the case, as the Mossos d’Esquadra, the autonomous police force in Catalonia, were unable to identify who shouted the insult.
Tebas has sent a letter to the presidents of the first and second divisions clubs, asking them to do as much as they possibly can to combat the issue and to identify offending fans immediately. He also encouraged the clubs of players who had been insulted to file official complaints, while a special email account has been set up (StopRacismo@laliga.es) for fans who wish to report racist abuse.
Furthermore, to avoid any issues with the Prosecutor’s office and streamline the process, LaLiga is now able to directly notify the Instruction Courts, who are in charge of investigating the crime, rather than first report it to Spain Anti-Violence Commission. This is what happened when Vinícius received racist abuse in Real Madrid’s game away to both Real Valladolid and Real Mallorca. The next step is to toughen punishments: LaLiga wants to have the power to close stands, which is currently the responsibility of the RFEF Competition Committee. In addition, each case is reported to the Anti-Violence Commission so that it can issue the fines that it sees fit.
A diplomatic issue
Earlier this year, Anielle Franco, Brazil's Minister of Racial Equality, spoke to ESPN, and said she was ashamed of what was happening: "We took a stand as soon as that unfortunate scene with the dummy happened. He is one of the best players in the world and he has to deal with that almost on a daily basis. It's absurd," the minister added, about the constant attacks against the Brazilian striker, which have already become a diplomatic issue.
She continued: "I have held meetings with the Spanish embassy. We asked the vice-president (Yolanda Diaz) for a meeting to consider measures in this regard. I think there is a lot we can do. We are watching him closely, he is not alone. We hope that at some point they will know that we are trying to get in touch, even if it's just to go there and think about what we can do. We will do that”.
A diplomatic issue between Brazil and Spain has produced the plan to support Vinicius which already includes Irene Montero, who represents the Ministry of Equality in Spain. Anielle Franco remembered her sister, Marielle, who was murdered in Rio de Janeiro in March 2018: "I get a lump in my throat talking about him because the best moments I had with my sister were at the Maracana. I remember my father talking about him, my niece going crazy about him and me too," Franco explained.
"I think this shows that racism doesn't end with social status. Only those who know where they come from know where they can go. Only those who come from the bottom and ascend socially understand how deep this hole is”, she concluded.
Supporting Vini Jr
Many fans and other sportsmen including his teammates, coach and those of the other teams not only in Spain have shown support for the young Brazilian. This is quite positive as their support also motivates and encourages not only Vini but also other supporters to show their support. The latest case was that of Jurgen Klopp who during the pre-game press session said that those incidents including Vinicius are ugly and unjustifiable.
Klopp rejected any suggestion the player might have prompted his targeting of racist abuse with what a questioner at his news conference described as "provocative" actions on the pitch. "What is the question? That he [Vinicius] is doing something on the pitch that could cause it? There is nothing in the world that could justify that. Imagine if I say yes? That would be completely insane”, the German coach said.
His coach, Carlo Ancelotti had previously spoken as well. As always, he has been a very important supporting figure for the youngster. Ancelotti has backed the 22-year-old to overcome the abuse and elevate himself into the top echelon of world football. "You can only change people through culture, a common purpose and feeling of humanity. Don't blame Spain for this, it happened in every country", Ancelotti said at his press conference ahead of the UCL clash against Liverpool.
He continued: “I hope they are working on this the people that have to be involved in this. I think racism is a really serious topic, there is no law that can change the behavior of an individual person. Vini is managing really well, he is focused on the game and loves to play football and this doesn’t affect on the pitch. When games are important we see the best of him and it is obviously going to be a big game tomorrow”.
Fines and bans
As of February 28, it is declared by the responsible institutions that a football fan is to be fined 4,000 euros and banned from entering sport stadiums for a year after he was found guilty of using racial abuse against Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior. The sanctions against the RCD Mallorca fan were outlined by Spain’s state commission against violence, racism and intolerance in sport on Tuesday. The fan committed the racist act from the stands of the Son Moix stadium on February 5.
After identifying the fan, the Commission issued the punishment and released the following statement: “A fine of 4,000 euros, and prohibition of access to sports venues for a period of 12 months, to an individual who was identified as the author of the racist insults made against the Real Madrid player Vinícius Junior in the RCD Malllorca - Real Madrid CF match, held on February 5”.
The fine and ban are slightly more severe than what the National Police had originally suggested, which included 3, 000 Euros and six months ban according to Spanish media outlet Marca. This is an important step towards the process of nullifying the racial insults and also other negative behaviors in the stadiums. It will surely be a slowly progressing process but if all of the stakeholders included will keep constantly working it will hopefully be a successful process.
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