Attack on Vinícius Júnior is a 'glaring reminder' of persistent racism in football, UN warns
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, in addition to denouncing the racist attacks against Vini Jr, also demanded immediate measures and made an appeal to the world's sporting events to urgently confront, combat and prevent racism.
Photo Reproduction / Jean-Marc Ferré
Volker Türk, High Commissioner of United Nations Organization (UN) for Human Rights, said this Wednesday (24) that the racist incidents directed at the Brazilian player Vinicius Jr during a match in Valencia, Spain, are a "strong reminder" of the persistence of racism in the world of sport. The commissioner appealed to entities that organize sporting events, requesting an increase in strategies to prevent and combat acts of racism. In addition, he emphasized the importance of government participation in this process. "It's crucial that we start by listening to athletes of African descent," he said.
"They (Spain) started arresting people very quickly, but we also need those who organize sporting events to take this issue very seriously," he said. "It is more than obvious that we need to look at the issue of human rights in a broader way."
Türk announced that he intends to create a guide containing protocols to prevent and deal with racist attacks at sporting events in a comprehensive way.
The racist attacks
On Sunday (21), during the game between Real Madrid, Vinicius Jr., the team, and Valencia, held in Mestalla Stadium, in Valencia, south-east Spain, regrettably, the player was once again the target of racist attacks. These incidents resulted in the match being temporarily stopped as Vini Jr. identified and pointed out the fans responsible for the insults. After the resumption of the game, there was a confusion involving the players, in which a Valencia player applied a blow known as rear-naked choke on Vini, who, upon freeing himself, ended up hitting his opponent in the face. The video referee, Iglesias Villanueva, showed only the images of the blow delivered by the Real Madrid player. The Brazilian was the only expelled player.
New measures
On Tuesday (23), the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) issued a statement informing the revocation of the red card attributed to the Brazilian player Vinícius Jr during the match against Valencia, valid for La Liga, held at the Mestalla stadium. Moments before, Vini had already been the target of racial slurs uttered by the supporters of the home team. Throughout the game, both before and during most of the confrontation, shouts of "Mono" (monkey in Spanish) were heard directed at the player.
The RFEF announced the closure of the area for five games as a form of punishment, in addition to imposing a fine on the club in the amount of more than 240 thousand reais. This Wednesday (24), Valencia issued a statement repudiating the decision through the club's official website.
"Valencia CF wishes to show its total disagreement and indignation at the unfair and disproportionate sanction imposed by the Competitions Committee with the closure of the Mario Kempes sector for five games. by La Liga. In addition, this sanction is based on evidence that the club was unable to see. Therefore, we consider that penalizing and depriving our fans who had nothing to do with the acts from seeing games is a disproportionate, unfair and unjust measure, which we will fight against. The fight against racism requires commitment from all parties involved without using it as a pretext for injustice. , said the club's board in a statement.Despite the annulment of the Red card, Vinícius did not participate in the game against Rayo Vallecano held this Wednesday. In addition to the complications arising from this situation, a slight discomfort in the knee led the Italian coach to decide for the Brazilian player to rest. However, so many Real Madrid fans and teammates paid tribute to Vini Jr. at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, showing their support for the athlete in the fight against racism.
