A disgrace without precedents
"As long as the colour of the skin is more important than the brightness of the eyes, there will be war... We are with you, Vini!"
Those were the words that Raphinha wrote on his shirt, recalling a tattoo that Vinícius Júnior has, and a saying attributed to Bob Marley.
“This is certainly the actions of a minority but that does not make it more acceptable,” wrote Jules Koundé on Instagram on Monday.
“Are these people deeply racist or do they act only in order to destabilise? Hard to say. But one thing is certain, words matter and actions have consequences.”
“These behaviours are punishable by law. Stadium bans, alone, would be all too easy. What sanctions exist beyond football? Are they actually applied? Are they sufficient? Can we imagine more educational and general interest measures?”
“Ignorance is the worst of evils, but it can be cured. I remain convinced that everyone is able to reflect on their past behaviour, to take stock of the harm it has caused, and to change for the better.”
“All my support Vini Jr.”
Diego Simeone called it an opportunity to make a change on Tuesday. When Xavi Hernández took to his seat in the press room at Camp Nou, ahead of the 3-1 defeat to Real Valladolid where Raphinha removed his shirt to reveal that message, he too asked for people to understand that this was nothing to do with club colours.
“It’s sad and unfortunate that it happens in 2023. We have to condemn them, regardless of badges, players or clubs.”
Yet in general, the overwhelming reaction from Barcelona fans when the RFEF announced action for the racist incidents on Sunday night, was to ask why Fede Valverde or the Espanyol fans had not seen such swift justice for their crimes. The Royal Spanish Football Federation announced that Mestalla would receive a *partial* closure of the stadium for five matches, and a €45k fine. Vinícius would have his red card rescinded.
Their decision to do the latter was unnecessary, and wrong, fuelling the narrative of impunity towards Vinícius that is alive amongst rival fans. If only the rest of Spain had shown some of the same outrage when Vinícius was being called subhuman.
Superdeporte, the Valencian-based paper, called the decision to punish Mestalla ‘a disgrace without precedents’. Many abroad would use that phrase to describe the treatment that the Brazilian has received. It is certainly not without precedent. The same weekend Atalanta played with a partial stadium ban for racial abuse towards Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic.
Other players have received racial abuse. Valencia defender Gabriel Paulista was abused racially online after Valencia’s win. David Alaba had to look at monkey emojis on his Instagram from Real Madrid fans for voting for Lionel Messi in the FIFA Best Awards. Cast back, there are instances of fans at the Santiago Bernabéu being racist, and two weeks ago there were homophobic chants towards Pep Guardiola. At Camp Nou earlier this season, there was racial abuse towards Vinícius.
The point is, and it is remarkable this has to be said, it does not matter what colour of shirt a fan is wearing, racism has to be punished with the strongest available sanctions. Valencia have faced harsher punishments than other clubs, but given the situation, given this is the tenth, double-figures, over half of the away games Real Madrid have played in LaLiga, ‘official’ instance of racism that Vinícius has suffered this season, it should be the least of anyone’s worries.
Just as Vinícius’ sanction should. That decision was incendiary, but since Sunday night, far more energy has been dedicated to defending Valencia’s image, to claiming Spain isn’t racist, or to asking about inconsistencies in punishment, than sorting out the clear problem that caused all of this. All of these are discussions that can be had, but as an afterthought. Large sections of Spain showed on Tuesday evening that they still care more about who the Brazilian plays for, more than it cares about the discrimination he receives. Meanwhile the players, the hamsters in the football wheel, continue to ask for solidarity against racism. That change for the better that Koundé mentions seems a while away.