CBF president supports Vinícius Jr. after latest racial abuse،
Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) President Ednaldo Rodrigues has expressed his support for Vinícius Júnior after the Real Madrid striker was once again the victim of racist insults in La Liga.
Footage showed a Sevilla fan making a racist gesture towards Vinícius in the 86th minute of Madrid’s 1-1 draw at Sevilla on Saturday.
“It is shocking to once again see acts of racism against Vinícius Júnior,” Rodrigues said in a statement released by the CBF.
“Racism is a crime and must always be fought. It is unfortunate that we still see actions like this. I am black and I know the pain it [Vinicius] this is felt in every racist attitude of the fans. I will always show solidarity with the victims of racism. We cannot normalize this. My voice will always be heard to put an end to such brutal attitudes. »
Brazilian international Vinícius, 23, has repeatedly been the target of racist insults from opposition supporters. He testified earlier this month in the trial of three Valencia fans accused of racist abuse against him during a league match in May.
Vinícius said earlier this year that “racism is normal in La Liga and opponents encourage it”.
LaLiga recently unveiled a system to monitor abuse on social media as part of its fight against racism. Last month, Javier Tebas admitted that one of his faults as La Liga president was “not having detected earlier some of the problems of racism that Spanish football is experiencing.
Vinícius, who last year accused La Liga of not doing enough to end racism, praised Sevilla for acting quickly following the latest incident. After the match, Sevilla announced that it had identified and handed over to the authorities a supporter for practicing racism and xenophobia during the match, a decision which was also welcomed by the CBF.
“At least this time the attacker did not leave the stadium unpunished,” Rodrigues said. “Seville has done the least that a racist attitude deserves. The CBF will continue to put pressure on all football authorities and those outside of sport so that this heinous crime is rigorously punished. The CBF continues to work with FIFA, CONMEBOL and UEFA so that all sporting entities around the world act vehemently against racism.
“We are taking effective action and we will not stop until we expel the racists from the stadiums.”
The state of Rio de Janeiro approved a new law in June aimed at combating racist behavior at sporting events, following the abuse suffered by Vinicius in Spain. Commonly known as “Vini Law.” Jr.”, this measure, the first of its kind in this South American country, requires the interruption, or even the stopping, of a sporting event during which a racist act takes place.
