Brazil and Spain will come together in a friendly match next year to support Vinicius Jr, the talented winger from Real Madrid. The game, aimed at combating racism, will be held at the Bernabeu, the home stadium of Vinicius’ club. Vinicius has been subjected to racist abuse on multiple occasions while playing in Spain during the previous season.
Luis Rubiales, the president of the Spanish Football Association, emphasized that racist insults have no place in football. Rubiales, along with Ednaldo Rodrigues, the president of the Brazilian FA (CBF), launched an anti-racism campaign called “One skin.” Rodrigues stressed the need for stricter punishments by football authorities in cases of racism, suggesting that fines alone are inadequate. The CBF was the first football federation to implement harsher sanctions for racism, including deducting points from league standings, closing stands, or permanently expelling club members.
Rodrigues expressed the importance of a global campaign to combat this disgraceful virus that affects football worldwide. In the meantime, Brazil will face Guinea in Barcelona and Senegal in Lisbon as part of their preparations.
The most recent incident of racial abuse directed at Vinicius occurred during a match between Real Madrid and Valencia in May. Vinicius, who had initially received a red card for violent conduct but later had it rescinded, stated that Spain’s football scene was marred by racism. La Liga president Javier Tebas faced widespread criticism for his handling of the incident, with many condemning his response on social media, where he told Vinicius to “inform himself properly.” Tebas later apologized to Vinicius, clarifying that he did not intend to “attack” the young player.
Rubiales expressed his frustration, describing such events as intolerable and not representative of the country’s values. He acknowledged the existence of a racism problem and stressed the need to combat it to protect Spain’s reputation on a global scale.
In conclusion, the upcoming friendly match between Brazil and Spain will serve as a platform to support Vinicius Jr and promote the fight against racism in football. The collaboration between the Spanish and Brazilian football authorities aims to raise awareness and implement stricter measures to eradicate this shameful issue from the sport.
