Thursday, August 29, 2024 -Real Madrid winger, Vinicius Jnr has vowed to take a stand against racism if he is abused during matches in Spain this season.
The two-time Champions
League winner and Ballon d'Or contender has been the target of
racist abuse on 16 occasions in the last 18 months while playing for Real
Madrid.
Vinicius Jn has now had conversations
with his Madrid team-mates on how they deal with any further instances that
could arise over the coming months.
The 24-year-old Brazilian international
revealed that the whole team has agreed to walk off the pitch if any player is
racially abused by fans.
'In the club, we talk about it more often,'
he told The Mirror. 'Not just me, but all players said that if that
happens, the next time everyone has to leave the field so that all of those
people who insulted us have to pay a much bigger price than they’re paying.
'In the case of what happened in Valencia,
after the game - after we thought about it - everyone said that the right thing
to do is to leave the field, but because you are there defending a team, we
know that not everyone in the stadium is racist and were just there to watch
the game.
'It’s always very difficult to end a game
but with everything that’s been happening, that each time is getting worse, we
do need to leave the field so things can change as soon as possible.'
The Valencia game that Vinicius Jnr
referred to took place in May 2023 and saw the Madrid forward sent off late on
after he reacted angrily to racist abuse aimed at him from the stands and got
into an altercation with a Valencia player.
Vinicius Jnr's red card was later
rescinded, while three men were handed eight-month prison sentences in June for
their racist remarks and gestures towards him.
LaLiga noted this was 'the first conviction
of its kind to be handed down in Spain', and Vinicius Jnr believes the attitude
towards racism in the country is slowly changing.
'I already see and feel the difference in
Spain. Today - maybe they are still racists - but nowadays they are afraid to
express themselves on the football field, and in places where there are a lot
of cameras.
'And with that, we will reduce
racism, little by little. Of course we won’t be able to end it but I’m already
happy that I’m being able to change Spain’s mindset. In the last few months
there were three people who were jailed for insulting me in one of the games.
'That’s something that will always be
stamped in history. Because it was the first time and each time they do it
again, it will be possible to make them pay for making Black people suffer.'
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