Study: 1 in 4 Spaniards has racist behavior – 05/25/2023 – Sport

One in four Spaniards between the ages of 15 and 29 has racist or xenophobic behavior or opinions, according to the Queen Sofía Center for Adolescence and Youth in Madrid.

Gypsies and people from sub-Saharan African countries and Morocco are the main victims of offenses and attacks motivated by hate speech, says the survey. The study sheds light on the intense debate about racism in Spain, triggered after the Brazilian Vinicius Junior was once again the target of insults during a match for the Spanish Championship.

According to the private entity, founded in 2013 with the aim of developing multidisciplinary analyzes on the social and cultural contexts of adolescents and young people, the three main reasons for the identified behavior are ethnic origin, gender and sexual orientation. Discrimination by country appears as the fourth major reason, and racial traits, in fifth.

The center states that “a worrying 25% [dos jovens] show clearly racist and xenophobic attitudes, and this group is made up mainly of men who are ideologically positioned on the extreme right”.

The research was completed in November 2022 and presented under the title: “Youth and racism. Study on racist and xenophobic perceptions and attitudes among the young population of Spain”.

To present the conclusions, the researchers interviewed 1,200 young people, aged 15 to 29, living in Spain. They answered a questionnaire to identify the degree of discrimination suffered and exercised by the young population for reasons of origin, ethnicity, culture and religion.

The interviews were carried out from June 28 to July 14, 2022. According to the Spanish entity, the confidence level is 95%.

Among the 25% who show racist and xenophobic attitudes, 60% included the discourse presented in the media among the reasons for their opinions. The image of migrants in proposals from far-right parties was mentioned by 49% of this share. There was mention of 40% of the migrants themselves for the “lack of adaptation”.

Last Sunday (21), the Brazilian Vinicius Junior, from Real Madrid, suffered again the pains of the problem pointed out by the study. During a match for the Spanish Championship, he was the victim of racial insults.

According to data from LaLiga itself, the entity that organizes the competition, the case that occurred in the duel against Valencia was at least the tenth in which the Brazilian was a victim.

When venting on social networks, the player reinforced that it was not “the first, nor the second, nor the third time” and questioned impunity for offenders and clubs. According to Vinicius, racism is tolerated by the organization and encouraged by opponents.

The speech was criticized by Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga, who said that the striker should “be better informed” about the initiatives of the group that promotes the tournament. Afterwards, the leader was forced to retreat.

Responsible for the body that organizes the Spanish Championship, Tebas is known for being a declared supporter of the extreme right in Spain. In 2019, he said he would vote for representatives of Vox, formed by supporters of dictator Francisco Franco, in the Spanish elections.

The player countered, writing that the championship’s image was shaken and that Tebas’ omission made him equal to the racists. The president of the Spanish Federation, Luis Rubiales, acknowledged that football in the country has a problem with racism.

This Wednesday, Tebas apologized to Vinicius and said he regrets “because an important part of people, especially in Brazil, did not understand the message”. “It was not my intention to attack Vinicius,” he added.

In the face of the enormous repercussions, LaLiga also informed in a note that it will ask for more powers to take measures against clubs and fans accused of discrimination. In the text, the entity says it is “frustrated” for not being able to impose more severe punishments.

On Tuesday (23), Spanish police said they had identified three fans who made racist gestures. They were held for questioning and later released.

On the same day, four other fans were taken away by the police, suspected of having hung a doll with Vinicius Junior’s shirt on a bridge, before the derby between Real and Atlético de Madrid, in January.

The recurrence of cases involving the Brazilian star led the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), to demand serious measures to combat racism in Spanish football.

Although it recognized the seriousness of the problem and repudiated the violence suffered by Vinicius Junior, the Spanish government stated that Spain is not a racist country.