Brazilian player is again a victim of racism in Spain and the internet makes noise in search of justice
During the 35th round of the Spanish Championship against Real Madrid, which took place last Sunday (21), Brazilian player Vincius Jnior was again the target of racist attacks.
The episode caused revolt not only in the player and his teammates, but also in the entire public that was following the football match. Soon, a chain of support and search for justice began on social networks, which has had repercussions throughout the week.
As could be imagined, La Liga sponsors were pressured by the public that was waiting for a position. Puma, sponsor of LaLiga and Valencia, offered support to the Brazilian player. “At Puma, we do not tolerate racism, we condemn discrimination in any form and we stand in solidarity with Vinicius Junior and the entire football community,” the brand said in a statement to Reuters.
Among all the sponsors, Santander was the one that suffered the most pressure for being the main sponsor of the championship and, in a note, pointed out that “Santander vehemently repudiates any prejudiced or racist manifestation. Both sponsors did not mention more active actions against racism in sport.
“Sponsors seek to associate themselves with the sport for the attributes it provides: emotion, happiness, teamwork. Sponsoring a competition in which racism recurs is endorsing the sad episodes that we are all seeing. such as Puma and Santander, quickly positioned themselves against the events”, pointed out Fbio Wolff, managing partner of Wolff Sports and specialist in sports marketing.
Other brands and entities joined the chain of solidarity with the Brazilian player, such as the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and Nike.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also joined the internet users and made a statement, in which he demanded that FIFA, LaLiga and leagues from other countries take measures.
Is it La Liga?
In addition to them, La Liga itself has been demanded by sports fans for a position, especially after the president of the first division of the Spanish football league has, in a way, attacked Vinicius Jr on his social networks.
“[o caso] It impacts La Liga directly and in the worst possible way. image crisis and there is no way. While the federation does not take more serious and assertive measures, it will be attacked by the public for its omission. The entity has the opportunity to correct errors and implement a new policy that tries to avoid the recurrence of this type of episodes as much as possible and becomes a reference for other leagues and championships around the world”, said Ren Salviano, CEO of Heatmap and specialist in sporty gesture.
In addition to the noise on the nets and the demonstration of some brands, after years of attack, the first racists were arrested in Spain after last Sunday’s game. The police arrested seven fans but, so far, three have already been released after giving testimony.
understand the case
In a match between Real Madrid and Valencia, Vini Jr was hit by a second ball on the field, which led to a series of complaints from the player and his teammates. While the inconvenience was resolved, part of the opposing team’s fans (Valencia) started a chorus calling Vini Jr a “monkey”.
Disgusted with the situation, Vini Jr showed the referee where the racist screams were coming from and even so, the screams continued. Later on at the end of the match, a confusion started between rival players, in which Vini Jr suffers a rear naked choke and ends up expelled for retaliating with a slap.
Still on Sunday, the player regretted the match on social media. “It wasn’t the first time, nor the second nor the third. Racism is normal in La Liga. The competition thinks it’s normal, the Federation does too and the opponents encourage it. I’m very sorry. The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano and Messi, today of the racists.”, vented Vini Jr.
Vini Jr highlighted that this is not the first episode of racism that he has suffered in the sport. In February of this year, LaLiga, responsible for the Spanish Championship, created a special commission to handle cases of racism against the player.
From now on
It is a fact that the image of La Liga is tarnished and, according to Fabio Wolff, from now on the federation needs to develop a policy that guarantees the punishment of both fans and teams that practice or support criminal acts, such as racism.
“La Liga has the opportunity to show the world through drastic and effective measures that it does not tolerate and will not tolerate racism anymore. This must happen immediately, there is no longer any room for misunderstandings”, pointed out the managing partner of Wolff Sports .
From the point of view of sponsors, Salviano pointed out that it is necessary for these brands, together with the federation, to be active in the fight against racism with projects and awareness campaigns, for example.
“It would be good form for the League and the brands that finance the championship to develop projects and awareness campaigns so that cases like these do not happen again. However, it is worth noting that the fight against racism cannot be restricted to campaign speeches and official positions. I need practical, assertive and urgent actions”, concluded the CEO of Heatmap.