Vini Jr: countries say that racism was not an isolated case – 05/23/2023 – Sport

The Ministry of Racial Equality, from Brazil, and the Ministry of Equality, from Spain, published a joint note this Tuesday (23) and stated that the case of racism against Vinicius Junior, from Real Madrid, was not an isolated case.

“The aforementioned agreement is based on the fact that racism is structural in our societies and that events like the one that occurred in Valencia are not isolated events, but are deeply rooted in society”, says the joint text of the folders.

The statement recalls that the two countries signed a memorandum to promote racial equality, in which concern for sport is one of the points mentioned.

“[Existe] the obligation of all competent institutions to respond with the greatest diligence to act against this and all cases that occur in the sports field and that cannot go unpunished, guaranteeing the monitoring, protection and reparation of the victims of these crimes”, completes the note of the two ministries.

Last Sunday (21), when Real faced Valencia, Vinicius Junior accused fans of calling him “monkey” – videos on social networks show the corners of the stands. The episode generated discussion between athletes from both teams and the Brazilian, later in the match, was expelled.

As an initial reaction, both La Liga, Valencia and sectors of the Spanish media tried to downplay the case. The tournament, for example, said that there is “a small percentage of racists in our football”, while the club said it was “isolated acts” by its fans, the same tone adopted by the local newspaper Super Deporte, which classified the event as a “deniable but totally isolated racist incident”.

On the other hand, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) showed solidarity with Vinicius Junior and Itamaraty mobilized Brazilian diplomacy to put pressure on the Spanish authorities.

The athlete published a video on social media compiling a series of racist attacks he has suffered since arriving at Real in 2018.

This Tuesday, the Spanish police arrested seven people suspected of racism against the Brazilian, among them, three of those who would have offended the athlete during Sunday’s match.

Another four people were detained as part of the investigation into the doll wearing the striker’s uniform hanging from a bridge in the Spanish capital at the end of January.

The four detained in Madrid are considered allegedly responsible for a “hate crime”, police said in a statement. Three are “active members of a radical group of supporters of a Madrid club”.