Vinicius Jr. vows to keep dancing despite abuse
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior has made it clear that he will keep dancing after scoring goals, despite being subject to racial abuse from opposition fans. Ahead of Madrid’s Champions League knockout tie against Liverpool, he tweeted: “Insults continue… but the dancing as well… See you in Liverpool! LET’S GO MADRID!”
Vinicius has experienced increasingly awful racism this season.
The abuse started when he danced after scoring a goal against Mallarco in September. In response, notable agent Pedro Bravo accused him of being disrespectful and evoked a racist trope by saying he “should stop playing the monkey.” He was also told by Bravo to ‘go back to Brazil’ if he wanted to dance.
Shortly afterwards, some Atletico fans were heard singing racist chants outside the Wanda Metropolitano ahead of the Madrid derby in September between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. Before the reverse fixture in January, some Atletico fans hung an effigy of Vinicius from a bridge.
Things have only escalated from there. When Real Madrid went to Mallorca, a fan was identified as shouting racist chants about Vinicius and La Liga filed a complaint with a Mallorca court. That was the sixth time the League had to take action.
It culminated in Real Madrid’s fixture against Osasuna on Saturday. During a minute’s silence for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, an individual was very clearly heard shouting “Vinicius, son of a bitch.”
Every time Vinicius touches the ball, he is jeered by opposition fans. He is regularly subject to racist abuse, and it points to a deeper issue within Spanish football.
Real Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti, has called for change, saying:
“I hope they [LaLiga, Spanish authorities] are working on this. It’s a serious issue, very complicated,” he said.
“There is no law that can change the mind of someone, it has to change with common sense or culture. I don’t blame Spain.
“We see these episodes happening in other countries. We have to work on respect of others. Spain is a fantastic country, I love to live there. Vinicius is managing very well this moment. He loves to play the game and it doesn’t affect him on the pitch.”
Via ESPN
It is clear that something needs to be done. It’s up to La Liga to take a stronger stance on the abuse.
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