By
Boluwatife Adedokun
The sport management body, La Liga has made its stand against the racists chanting to Real Madrid’s Vinicius, after scoring five goals on Sunday, categorising it as “Hate speech”.
Recall that Vinicius was instrumental to Real Madrid winning Atletico Madrid on Sunday, sparking reactions among fans as some allegedly sang racist songs when leaving the stadium.
Vinicius, a 22-year-old had earlier said “the happiness of a black Brazilian in Europe” was behind recent criticism.
La Liga in a statement by its spokesperson said “We denounce all incidents inside and outside stadiums.
“We work with clubs to keep our football friendly and enjoyable.
“Hate speech has no place in La Liga and we always work with the clubs and the authorities to identify and bring to justice any such case.”
The racist view was also echoed during Spanish television discussion when Agent Pedro Bravo responded “in Spain, you have to respect rivals and stop playing the monkey”, and this led to accusations of racism.
In his response, Vinicius, who scored five goals in eight games for the European champions so far mentioned other stars that danced in their celebrations on Friday.
“Weeks ago, some people started to criticise my dancing. But the dancing is not mine alone,” he said.
“They belong to Ronaldinho, Neymar, [Lucas] Paqueta, [Antoine] Griezmann, Joao Felix, Matheus Cunha… Brazilian funk singers and samba dancers, Latin reggaeton singers, and Black Americans. They are dances to celebrate the cultural diversity of the world.
“They say that happiness bothers. The happiness of a Black Brazilian being successful in Europe bothers much more. But my will to win, my smile and the sparkle in my eyes are much bigger than that.”
In support of Vinicius, several Brazilian football stars on social media, including Pele and Neymar and Real Madrid have also released statements condemning the pundit’s comments on Friday.
The criticism and racism comment by the pundit did not stop Vinicius and his Brazilian team-mate Rodrygo from dancing after he later scored the opening goal at Wanda Metropolitano as Real Madrid won 2-1.
