UEFA’s control, ethics and disciplinary body also pointed out that although Atletico president Enrique Cerezo had condemned racism generally after that game, he had not specifically said anything about the behaviour of his own team’s fans.įormer Barcelona right-back Dani Alves is among many La Liga players of colour who have condemned repeated racist behaviour by opposition supporters in the past. UEFA fined Atletico €30,000 (£26,300 $29,900) and ruled their first game in this season’s competition must be played behind closed doors. Last March, monkey noises were directed at a 19-year-old Real Madrid player during a UEFA Youth League match against Atletico. Incidents have been highlighted in games going back decades - with former Madrid and Brazil players Roberto Carlos and Marcelo among the opponents to have been abused in past derbies. Atletico’s hard right-wing Frente Atletico ultras have a long history of racist and neo-Nazi behaviour. It was significant that the issue returned to the spotlight in the run-up to a derby between the Spanish capital’s two biggest teams. Cala denied he had said anything racist and, after La Liga and the Spanish federation launched investigations, no punishments of any kind were handed out. The most high-profile recent case came in April 2021, when Valencia defender Mouctar Diakhaby left the pitch after he said he had been racially abused by Cadiz centre-back Juan Cala. This is not the first time Spanish football has had to contend with accusations of racism. ✊□□! Obrigado pelo apoio! Eu não vou parar! #BailaViniJr /h3RsmwYAYw “The happiness of a black Brazilian who triumphs in Europe annoys people more,” he said. On Friday, Vinicius released a video on Twitter that directly linked criticism of his dancing celebrations to racism in Europe. Bravo later said on Twitter that his words had been badly chosen, and apologised if anyone had been offended. Then Spanish agent Pedro Bravo said on controversy-seeking television programme El Chiringuito on Thursday that Vinicius had to “stop playing the monkey” during his goal celebrations. “There will be trouble for sure, that’s just normal.” “If he scores a goal and decides to dance, that is his choice,” Koke said. Every player and coach on both sides who spoke to the media was asked for their opinion, including captain Koke on Wednesday. In the build-up to the Madrid derby, many at Atletico appeared to support Aguirre, a former coach at the club. The debate over whether it was more acceptable for opponents to kick talented players than for goalscorers to celebrate by dancing continued through the week in the more tabloid elements of the Spanish sports media. Real Madrid won 4-1, congratulations to them. It’s football, and that stays on the field. He then scored to put Madrid 2-1 up, and celebrated with his usual dance, which some opposition players and fans had claimed to be offended by in the past.Īfter the match, Aguirre said: “In the countryside, there is a lot of talk, not here. Vinicius was angered at the rough challenges from Mallorca’s players, and on the pitch, he accused the visiting coach Javier Aguirre of telling his team to “kick me”. “Football is the most global sport there is and should be a model of values and coexistence,” the club added.īut the past week’s events have shown how the issue of racism in Spanish football still does not appear to be taken as seriously as in other countries. On Sunday, Madrid pointed toward the statement the club had released on Friday, which condemned “all types of racist and xenophobic language and behaviour in football, sport and life in general, such as the regrettable and unfortunate comments made against our player Vinicius Junior in the last few hours”. Neither Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti nor his Atletico counterpart Diego Simeone spoke during their post-game media duties about the chants outside the stadium beforehand, or the obvious targeting of Vinicius by Atletico fans throughout the evening.Ītletico told The Athletic that the club “condemn this type of attitude from a few who do not represent anyone, and we make clear that we are completely against racism”. The 22-year-old did, however, send a tweet from the dressing room with the message “dance wherever you want”, which all who had been following closely understood very well.īaile donde quieras… /2fu372LEdr Vinicius did not speak to the media afterwards, but he had done his talking and his dancing during the game. He then suffered further abuse throughout the 90 minutes. On Thursday, Vinicius was compared to a monkey on Spanish TV and then before Sunday’s game, many Atletico fans chanted “Vinicius is a monkey” outside the Metropolitano Stadium. That was as much as any player or coach from either side said after a game in which the major talking point for many had been the racist abuse suffered by Madrid’s Vinicius Junior.
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