Racism against Real Madrid soccer star Vinicius Jr. has sent Spain’s top league scrambling to repair its international image and sparked a national soul-searching over discrimination.
The 22-year-old Brazilian reported racist abuse from fans to the referee during Real Madrid’s clash with Valencia last weekend, but was shown a red card after scuffling with an opposing player at the end of the game.
La Liga’s chief executive, Javier Tebas, urged Vinicius to “educate himself” after the Brazilian said the league “is racist” and urged sponsors and broadcasters to push for it. international outrage. It takes action.
While racism is a long-running problem in Europe, the incident has Spanish football – one of the country’s most important cultural exports – scrambling to appease sponsors and repair damage.
According to Enders Analysis, La Liga earned 897 million euros in international broadcast revenue last season, making it the world’s second-biggest domestic competition after the English Premier League. Real Madrid and Barcelona are two of the most popular names in global sports.
Some of La Liga’s biggest sponsors, such as Santander and Puma, have expressed their support for Vinicius. A business partner of the league told the Financial Times that the incident was “damaging the Spanish brand”. Others in the industry have warned that La Liga’s long-term appeal could be damaged.
“No brand wants to be associated with racism. Unless something decisive is done soon, brands may choose not to renew sponsorships,” said Ricardo Forte, a sports business consultant who has worked on global sponsorships at Visa and Coca-Cola. “Time is ticking in La Liga.”
In Brazil, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva demanded action from football’s governing body FIFA and La Liga, and said he would raise the issue with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
The incident dominated the headlines in Spain, prompting Sanchez to say there should be “zero tolerance for racism in football” and that xenophobia should not be tolerated in society. But other politicians have been playing with more caution ahead of this weekend’s regional and local elections.
“Politicians don’t want to say Spaniards are racist. They say ‘it’s just a minority’. They’re very careful – if you call me racist, maybe I won’t vote for you,” said former Spanish ambassador to the UK and NATO Carlos Miranda said. “It’s important to see what happens next week.”
Spanish football authorities are trying to show they are serious about addressing the issue. The FA ordered Valencia to close part of its stadium for five matches and launched an anti-discrimination campaign with the slogan “Racists outside football” (Racists, get off the football). Valencia described the punishment as “unfair and disproportionate”.
La Liga said on Wednesday it felt “powerless” to do more and called for new legislation to impose sanctions on clubs and fans.mass slogan “Mononucleosis” (Monkey) opposition to black and mixed race players — the same chants that Vinicius reported to referees — is not uncommon at games.
Last weekend’s match against Valencia was the 10th time since 2021 that racial abuse against Vinicius has been reported to La Liga.
The notoriously outspoken Tebas apologized on Wednesday for his comments, which he said had been misunderstood.
In a letter to business partners seen by the Financial Times, La Liga outlined its anti-racism efforts to “give necessary context to reprehensible incidents”. At the same time, the letter said it was “unfair to generalize to tarnish a game and a country due to the utterly reprehensible actions of a few individuals”.
In the days following the match, police made several arrests in connection with two racist incidents, one involving the hanging of a statue of Vinicius from a bridge near Real Madrid’s training ground.
The club’s full squad arrived at the pitch in Vinicius’ No. 20 shirt ahead of Wednesday’s home game, with the Brazilian, who was sidelined through injury, receiving a standing ovation. A giant banner at the Santiago Bernabeu read: “We are all Vinicius. Enough is enough.”
Racism has plagued European football for decades. England strikers Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford have faced a torrent of racism online after they missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final. Premier League players’ decision to take a knee before a game to protest racial inequality has sparked a political backlash in Britain.
Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku was the target of racist chants against Juventus in April. He was sent off for gesturing to fans, prompting Italian football authorities to take action.
Vinícius Júnior reacts to insults from the stands during Sunday’s match against Valencia © Jose Jordan/AFP/Getty Images
Real Madrid fan and political economist Miguel Otero, of the Elcano Real Institute, said Spanish football was in the middle of a “modernization” that took place earlier in England, a process that made The stadium is more family-friendly and helps bring in more money to the club.
“A lot of people still have this romantic view of football, that football is a place where you can let off steam, you can talk, you can shout,” he said. “But it has become a place where you can’t just go and insult.”
Others see this week as a moment for Spain to realize this and believe the issue will now be dealt with more effectively. Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti says Vinicius has helped raise the profile and he expects the situation to improve “very quickly”.
“A lot of horrible things have happened. Society as a whole, not just sport, has sort of accepted the guilt of it,” he said after his team game Against Vallecano. “This could be a real opportunity.”
Additional reporting by Samuel Agini in London