(Madrid) Spanish justice opened an investigation on Monday, the day after new insults uttered against Vinicius, the Brazilian striker of Real Madrid, during a match in the Spanish football championship, again confronted with the scourge of racism in its stages.
The parquet floor of Valencia (south-east), where the Brazilian star was insulted on Sunday during a championship match lost by the merengue club against the local team (1-0), has, on its own initiative, opened investigations for an alleged “hate crime”, we learned from judicial sources. This criminal category includes racist insults.
The Spanish Higher Sports Council (CSD), equivalent to the State Secretariat for Sports in France, said it was analyzing the images to identify “the perpetrators of these insults and behavior to propose sanctions. appropriate”. The CSD also recalled that, for similar acts of racism, it has already proposed this season a €4,000 fine and a one-year stadium ban for the perpetrators of these insults.
In front of the press, the president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, admitted on Monday that Spanish football had “a problem of racism”.
The Federation also called for the adoption of “more vigorous measures”, which could go as far as the closure of stands or even stadiums in the event of a repeat offense. For their part, Real Madrid and AFE, the main players’ union in Spain, have announced that they have filed a complaint with the Spanish public prosecutor’s office for an investigation to be opened.
On a more political level, the Spanish government, through its Minister of Consumer Affairs, Alberto Garzon, called for “a firm response” against this phenomenon which “shows that racism is deeply rooted among certain specific groups of supporters […] ]”.
These words and actions are in addition to the many supports received by Vinicius, with the notable exception of the powerful and sulphurous boss of La Liga, Javier Tebas.
On Sunday at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, when Real lost on behalf of the 35th day, the Merengue striker, regularly targeted, complained of being called a “monkey” by opposing fans.
“It was not the first time, nor the second nor the third. Racism is normal in La Liga, “reacted on Instagram the Brazilian player, 22, excluded at the end of the game after a scuffle which saw his opponent escape a similar sanction.
Spain, he added, is “a beautiful nation, which welcomed me and which I love, but which agreed to export to the world the image of a racist country. Sorry for the Spaniards who disagree, but today in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists.”
His words were not to the taste of Javier Tebas. “Before criticizing and insulting La Liga, it would be necessary for you to inform yourself properly,” he lashed out, refuting any inaction on his part.
The latter, which highlighted its “responsiveness” in a press release, assured that it had transmitted eight complaints this season for incidents suffered by Vinicius, only one of which resulted in a sanction (for incidents in Valladolid in mid-December) .
“We cannot allow the image of a competition to be tarnished in this way, where more than 200 black (sic) players in 42 clubs receive the respect and affection of all supporters every day, and where racism is an extremely punctual case (9 complaints) that we are going to eradicate, ”detailed Javier Tebas on Monday at midday on Twitter.
Insufficient, nevertheless judged Carlo Ancelotti, the coach of Real. “What’s happened so far? Reports that came to nothing […] The solution is to stop the game. »
Support for Vinicius poured in from around the world.
Starting with Brazil, where the president of the Federation, Ednaldo Rodrigues, assured on social networks that Vinicius had “the love of all Brazilians”.
“New episode of racism in La Liga and once again Vini is the victim”, also lamented Ronaldo, the legend of the Seleçao. “This will last as long as impunity and complicity” continue. “With you,” posted Neymar.
During a press conference in Hiroshima, Japan, President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva denounced the “racism” suffered by his young compatriot.
Paris SG star Kylian Mbappé also took a stand. ” You’re not alone. We are with you and support you,” he wrote in English on Instagram.
In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tweeted Monday evening that “hate and xenophobia must have no place in our football or in our society”, reiterating his wish for “zero tolerance with racism in football “.
The Valencia club assured Monday that it had already identified a supporter who uttered racist insults on Sunday and was looking for others. The club has promised that it will “ban for life” identified supporters.
