Real Madrid left winger Vinícius Júnior is one of the best players in LaLiga. His skill, dedication to his craft, and relentless determination on the pitch make him one of the most exciting and influential players in world football. But the ugliness of racism threatens to rob us of the joy of watching Vini Jr. at his most confident, effervescent best. All the while, the Spanish media and federation itself sit idly by or, worse yet, help fan the flames of the racism he faces.
There is something about Vinícius Júnior that threatens the most insecure people. Watching a young, successful Black man enjoy his football and his life is, apparently, so threatening to droves of Spanish football fans – and those abroad online who engage in this behavior or defend it – that the Brazilian forward is consistently a victim of racism.
Over the past couple of years, Vinícius Jr. has been racially abused by Barcelona, Mallorca, Real Valladolid, and Atlético Madrid fans, to name a few. The insults from crosstown rivals Atléti have been repeated and recently escalated to the point where a racist effigy of the player was hung from a bridge in the city.
The issue is at all levels
It is sickening to see how a 22-year-old Black man has been victimized by racist individuals who remain anonymous, unpunished, and unaccountable. The incidents occur across the country, can happen in any given week, and have been galvanized by media coverage that goes as far as to present Vini as some sort of instigator.
The gaslighting has been disturbing. Even LaLiga President Javier Tébas engaged in it. When Vinícius Júnior rightfully noted that the league has done nothing to hold perpetrators of racism to account – and not just those directed at Vini Jr. himself – Tebas went on the defensive. He went so far as to essentially accuse Vini of spreading falsehoods, yet proved his point right by A) Attacking the victim and B) Continuing to do nothing about the problem.
Things are only getting worse. ESPN Brazil’s Gustavo Hofman’s account of the atmosphere at the Iberostar Stadium this weekend was heartbreaking and infuriating. Vinícius Júnior had already been racially abused by Mallorca fans at this venue last season. Before this match, Mallorca defenders Pablo Maffeo and Antonio Raíllo were busy fanning the flames on local radio, taking shots at Vini. And during the game, Vini Jr. was targeted physically, as he has been all season, fouled a whopping 10 times by the opposition.
Sickening response from fans
The saddest thing, though, is seeing how lacking the universal response from fans has been. There are people joining in the racism. Look at the quotes on this tweet from Football España in response to trash-talk from Vinícius Jr. towards Maffeo and Raíllo during the match. You will see the worst of humanity. There are gorilla and monkey emojis, people calling Vinícius Jr. an “ape”, other blatantly racist remarks, and people pretending to “play both sides” by saying Vini Jr. is an equally bad person who deserves racism sent his way,
Let me make one thing clear. NOBODY deserves to be the victim of racist abuse. NOBODY. I don’t care if you dislike Vinícius Jr. It is well within your right not to like somebody. What is not within your right, however, is to be racist. Additionally, you do not have the right to defend racism, excuse racism, or justify racism.
It is also troubling to see how Vinícius Jr. telling two players on the opposition that he will make more money than they ever will justifies racist abuse. What Vinícius Jr. said isn’t very sportsman-like, no. If he said that at a press conference or in an interview, he would be rightfully criticized. On the pitch, this is trash-talk, much in the same way Raíllo fake-crying at Vini to make fun of him is trash-talk. Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimović…the list goes on and on of great athletes across sports who engage in trash talk.
There is a difference between trash talk to get into an opponent’s head and racism. There is a difference between calling a player “bad” or saying you are better than another player (which is the implication regarding the salary remarks) and using someone’s race, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or any other aspect of identity against them.
Vinícius Júnior’s mental health matters
Finally, if you have something against what Vinícius Jr. said about those two players, I think you are within your right to criticize that. But you have to consider those remarks against the backdrop of what Vinícius Jr. faces, especially if, like me, you are not Black. It is unimaginable to consider what Vinícius Jr. is going through if we have not been in his situation. Week after week, Vini Jr. deals with racist abuse that is relentless, unpunished, and demoralizing. It would get to anybody’s head. Any behavior – complaining to refs, trash-talking etc. – done in response is a defense mechanism.
We are not talking about a player hurling harsh insults or physical abuse back. We are talking about a player who is still playing by the rules and doing his best to take the high road, but sometimes getting caught in the emotions in response to what he is dealing with. That is a normal response. That is a human response. And if Vini Jr. were to ever cross the line as the racism mounts, it would also be understandable. There is only so much one (young) man can take.
Football fans often lament how mental health of players is not taken seriously, but is this not a textbook of a player’s mental health being severely impacted by fans, institutions, and media that are victimizing him for their own sick, twisted gain or complacency? And are we not enabling this behavior by being complicit in our silence or, worse yet, engaging in knee-jerk criticism of Vinícius Jr.
Please put aside your fandom
Many of you reading this may not be Real Madrid fans, and you may not be fans of Vinícius Jr. personally. That is fine. But set aside your tribalism for a second, that is essential. You cannot, as an empathetic human being who wants the best for our society, believe that it is OK for Vini Jr. to have to deal with racist abuse week after week without any respite or justice. You cannot believe that someone facing this constant abuse can simply sit idly and not do anything in response.
Vinícius Jr. is a victim. Repeatedly. He deserves justice, yet LaLiga and the RFEF are not providing a semblance of justice – not even for one of the league’s biggest stars. It is tragic what is happening, and it is just as crushing to see how many fans are fractured in their support of justice for him. Do not fall for the media narrative that Vinícius Jr. is an aggressor bringing this upon himself. He is a victim and is the only victim in this case.
The people participating in this or being complicit should feel guilty for what they are doing to a young man who has not hurt anyone with his actions. Vini Jr. is trying to live his life, play football, and do the job he is paid to do. If LaLiga cannot protect him from racism and we, as fans, cannot work together to demand better, what message does that send to other Black footballers in Spain? Worse yet, what message does that send to society about what we stand for as people, in and outside of football?
The answer is equal parts damning and frightening; we are sending a message that in 2023, we still do not care about real issues like racism. We still care more about fake issues like which football team we like more. Because if this were to happen to a player from another team, whether a LaLiga rival or a club in another league, I would hope Real Madrid fans would support that player and fight against racism, too.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.