Vini Jr. is once again the target of racist attacks; Lula speaks out

Racism

Images recorded on video show Atlético de Madrid fans calling the rival club’s athlete a chimpanzee.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took to social media to repudiate a new racist attack suffered by player Vinicius Júnior, an athlete for Real Madrid and the Brazilian football team.

It is unbelievable that in the second decade of the 21st century behavior of this type still exists. All our solidarity with Vini Jr. He deserves all the respect and admiration for his talent and competence, not these manifestations of racist barbarism. https://t.co/256GjgAYkz

— Lula (@LulaOficial) March 14, 2024

Images recorded on video show Atlético de Madrid fans calling the rival club’s athlete a chimpanzee. The racist attacks were committed moments before the start of the match between the Madrid team and Inter Milan (Italy), last Wednesday (13), in the vicinity of the Metropolitan Stadium in the Spanish capital, for the round of 16 of the Champions League. Champions of Europe, competition organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The game did not even involve the participation of Vini Jr. and his team.

“It is unbelievable that in the second decade of the 21st century this type of behavior still exists. All our solidarity with Vini Jr. He deserves all the respect and admiration for his talent and competence, not these manifestations of racist barbarism”, Lula posted on Thursday night (14).

Earlier, Vinicius Júnior himself made a post demanding that UEFA punish those responsible for the attacks.

“I hope you have already thought about their punishment in the Champions League, UEFA. It’s a sad reality that even happens in games where I’m not present”, the player posted on his profile on a social network.

In a statement, the Brazilian government, through the Itamaraty Palace, stated that it received with “sadness and indignation” the news of yet another racist attack against the player, a situation that has been recurrent in Spain. Furthermore, he informed that he will reiterate to the Spanish government and sports authorities his concern about the repeated racist attacks on the athlete, in addition to demanding action from UEFA, organizer of the tournament in which the racist demonstrations took place.

“As long as there are no corresponding criminal and sporting sanctions, racists will continue to act and no campaign against racism will bring effective results”, says the note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

read more

LaLiga investigates racist insults from child filmed calling Vini Jr a “monkey”

Real Madrid wins Super Cup against Barcelona with three goals from Vini Jr.

Minister of Human Rights classifies motorcycle courier arrest in RS as institutionalized racism