Unfortunately, racism always seems to erupt in soccer regardless of the level or location. The most incident involves the targeting of Brazilian player, VinÃcius Júnior, who plays for Real Madrid in La Liga.
A few short weeks ago in Valencia, Spain, vicious racist insults were hurled at the 22-year-old by fans who called him “monkey” while making monkey noises. It got so bad that Júnior was reduced to tears.
Yet this wasn’t the first time the young star endured hatred, nor was it the first time he experienced it in Spain.
In January, an effigy of VinÃcius was hung off a bridge in Madrid near the team’s training area. And according to CNN, “VinÃcius has been subjected to racist abuse from the stands on 10 occasions during La Liga matches over the past two seasons.”
It’s gotten so bad that seven people were arrested last month and charged with a hate crime for their racist behavior directed at VinÃcius.
To his credit, VinÃcius has not shied away from speaking out against the racist antics.
“I have a purpose in life,†he said on Twitter, “and if I have to keep suffering so that future generations won’t have to go through these types of situations, I’m ready and prepared.â€
But it shouldn’t be his sole responsibility to stand up and fight back. He should be supported in the effort to squash and punish racists who continue to tarnish “The Beautiful Game.”
After the most recent incident, La Liga formally requested to be given powers to combat racism in the sport. The league noted that it can’t punish clubs or fans for racist incidents as that falls to RFEF committees (The Royal Spanish Football Federation) or regional prosecutors. However, back in 2013, FIFA created a racism taskforce and strengthened its disciplinary code, which was emulated by sanctioning bodies like UEFA, so the precedent was there.
Apparently, La Liga has been slow to react to the persistent and growing problem.
Now, Brazil has decided to step in and address the issue marring the country’s favorite sport.
Over the weekend, the entire Brazilian men’s national team donned Black kits in the first half of its friendly against Guinea in an effort to bring attention to racism in soccer.
The slogan of the anti-racism campaign by the Brazilian federation is “Com racismo nao tem jogo” (With racism, there is no game).
It was the first time the entire team wore Black kits. Normally they’re used by goalies and in warmups, but the issue was too important to ignore, especially when one of its own was the repeated target of hatred.
And the best part was the friendly took place in Barcelona, Spain.
“From the first day of my mandate, this [battle against racism] has been a priority,” said Brazil football federation president Ednaldo Rodrigues . “We held a seminar on this topic, and we created a working group with 60 persons who meet periodically to advance discussions and proposals.
“We are the only football federation in the world that created a mechanism that allows for points deductions for acts of racism, which is included in the federation’s official competition guidelines.”
As we’re all well aware, the battle against racism is ongoing, particularly in soccer where it continues to rear its ugly head.
Two years ago, also in La Liga in a clash between Valencia FC and Cadiz, Valencia defender Mouctar Diakhaby got into an altercation with Cadiz’s Juan Cala and Diakhaby accused Cala of using racist taunts. Diakhaby appealed to the referee and ended up getting a yellow card for stoppage during play. As a result, the entire Valencia team walked off the pitch in support of Diakhaby and only returned after he begged the team to go back out so they wouldn’t be penalized.
A few months prior to that, Reece James, a defender for the Chelsea soccer team and Anthony Martial and Axel Tuanzebe of Manchester United were all targets of online hate.
Soccer needs to unite to combat this problem.
It must stop excuses and enabling racist behavior through light punishments. If soccer is serious about protecting players from the harm racism causes, the sport, sanctioning bodies, teams and players must come together to address the issue. Whether that be through steeper point deductions, forfeiting matches and/or arresting and banning fans, immediate action needs to be taken and swift justice administered.
In May 2021, Thierry Henry brought attention to the issue through a social media blackout that was joined by clubs from the Premier League, English Football League, Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship. Governing bodies and organizations such as FIFA, UEFA and Kick It Out also partook in the effort.
Brazil started its anti-racism campaign in a country where racism in the sport is wildly evident.
Now let’s see which party will really bring the hammer down on racism in soccer.
