CNN
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Brazilian superstar Vinicius Junior broke down in tears in an emotional media interview on Monday, speaking about his experience of racial abuse while playing for Real Madrid in Spain.
The 23-year-old has suffered racism from opposition fans in Spain several times in his Madrid career and said he struggled to stay positive and motivated towards football as a result of the abuse.
“I just want to play football, but it’s hard to move on… I like playing less and less,” a visibly emotional Vinicius told reporters at the press conference. according to Reutersahead of Brazil’s friendly against Spain in Madrid at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday.
Despite the repeated discrimination he has faced, Vinicius explained that he has not considered leaving Los Blancos as he intends to defy his detractors and take a stand against racism.
“It never crossed my mind (to leave Spain) because if I leave Spain, I give the racists exactly what they want,” he told the media, according to Reuters.
“I’m going to stay because, that way, racists can keep seeing my face more and more. I’m a bold player, I play for Real Madrid and we win a lot of titles and that doesn’t sit well with a lot of people.”
Earlier this month, LaLiga – Spain’s top football league – said it was “studying and analyzing the facts” after it was claimed Vinicius had been racially abused by a member of the crowd during Madrid’s game against Valencia.
This comes after a number of incidents of racism directed at Vinícius in Spain.
These include a effigy of the Brazilian hanging from a bridge ahead of his side’s clash against Atletico Madrid in January 2023 and persistent racial abuse in a match against Valencia later that year. Racist slurs have also been caught on camera during Real’s matches in Osasuna, Mallorca, Real Valladolid and Atlético.
Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP/Getty Images
The Brazilian spoke in detail about the effect the repeated abuse had on him.
Vinicius insisted at the media conference that he did not call Spain racist, but called out racist people in crowds and bemoaned the lack of consequences for their actions.
“I’m sure Spain is not a racist country, but there are many racists here and many of them are in the stadiums,” he told reporters.
“This has to change because maybe people don’t really know what racism is and that’s very complicated because, in the last three years, I had to show a lot of Hispanics what racism is and that it really affects me. My family is very upset at home.
“Since the first time I officially complained about racism in Spain in the stadiums, things are getting worse because, since they are not punished, they get stronger.
“They know they can do anything and they know that all the words they say about the color of my skin can affect me on the court and they try to make it so that I play badly.
“I just want to be well and that, in all the stadiums in Spain, I have the peace of mind that no one will judge me for the color of my skin.”
La Liga told CNN Sport in 2023 that it cannot impose punishments on clubs or fans. Instead, he must report incidents to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) committees or district prosecutors, who then deal with them as legal cases before sporting penalties are imposed.
While several of Vinicius’ peers have expressed their solidarity with the young superstar in the past, the reaction from the media in Spain to the emotional Brazilian media conference was more mixed.
In particular, some Spanish journalists say that Vinicius has only himself to blame for the abuse he received.
“Vinicius has to ask himself why (Jude) Bellingham, Rodrygo or (Eduardo) Camavinga don’t have these same incidents, it doesn’t happen to them,” journalist David Bernabeu. He wrote in an opinion piece for the Spanish news outlet Sport.
It comes after LaLiga president Javier Tebas accused the 2023 striker of not working with the league to learn more about what it was doing to fight racism, a claim he was forced to back down and apologize to ESPN Brazil. saying: “It was not my intention, I expressed myself badly, at a bad time.”
Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images
Vinicius reacts after being abused by the stands during Madrid’s match against Valencia at Estadio Mestalla in 2023.
Despite the criticism that Vinicius has received in Spain, many in other countries have steadfastly supported the talented Brazilian.
Troy Townsend, head of player engagement at UK anti-racism organization Kick It Out, expressed his sympathy for Vinicius and criticized the sport for not taking a more proactive stance against racism.
“They always tell players, ‘Don’t show any signs of weakness,'” Townsend wrote to X on Monday. “All I see is incredible strength from a young man who has been visibly hurt by constant targeted racial abuse. It does… and yet the game avoids it every time.”
Former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand also weighed in on social media.
“I know there is RACISM [Spanish] pitches there & seems to be accepted by the authorities for some reason??? To see a young man break down in a press conference like @vinijr is heartbreaking to watch.” He wrote.