It was no ordinary day at Valdebebas, Real Madrid’s training ground on the outskirts of the Spanish capital.
On Monday, 100 accredited journalists — 72 of them from Brazil — arrived for Vinicius Junior’s press conference ahead of his national team’s friendly match against Spain tomorrow. They witnessed his most powerful message yet in the fight against racism — one that left him in tears as he explained the toll repeated abuse has taken on him.
The friendly at the Santiago Bernabeu had been organised by the Spanish and Brazilian Football Federations in response to the racism Vinicius Jr continues to suffer in stadiums across Spain. The screens behind the 23-year-old showed the Portuguese slogans of ‘UMA SO PELE’ (one skin) and ‘UMA SO IDENTIDADE’ (one identity) that had been used to promote the match.
Vinicius Jr, Madrid and Brazil’s star forward, has been subject to racist abuse at more than 10 Spanish grounds over the past two years. This month, he imitated the iconic gesture made by Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Mexico Olympics by raising a fist after scoring at Valencia, where he faced his most shocking episode of abuse last season. Then, La Liga reported alleged racist chanting towards him before Atletico Madrid’s Champions League match against Italian club Inter Milan. In January 2023, an effigy of Vinicius Jr was hung from a bridge near Valdebebas before a Madrid derby.
Vinicius Jr is outspoken about the issue on social media but rarely addresses reporters in person — he only previously did so after Madrid claimed the Supercopa de Espana (Spain’s equivalent of the Community Shield in England) in January. So the anticipation to hear the Brazilian speak was understandable, with the event delayed for 15 minutes because of how many people were present.
It is difficult to silence 100 people at once, but that is what happened when Vinicius Jr entered the room. He was accompanied by Madrid’s press officer, Carlos Carbajosa, and the Brazilian Federation (CBF)’s director of communications, Rodrigo Paiva. Carbajosa stood on the sidelines with Paiva next to Vinicius Jr as an interpreter translated his answers in Portuguese for the Spanish media.
Vinicius Jr sat down and rolled up his sleeves. For 40 minutes, he did not shy away from any questions.
Racism is very sad and with every news story I feel sadder,” he said, when asked why he had been targeted. He stuttered and his voice was cut short by tears for the first time. “It’s happening a lot in Spain, but also all over the world.”
“Nobody helps,” he added, explaining that football’s governing bodies UEFA, FIFA and the South American organisation CONMEBOL could all “do more things”. Here, he underlined the role played by the CBF. Its president, Ednaldo Rodrigues, was in attendance and later watched on as Vinicius Jr and his Brazil team-mates took part in a training session.
Vinicius Jr broke down in tears three times during the press conference (Alberto Gardin/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
“They have managed to make racism a crime in Brazil and that has meant that there are fewer cases,” Vinicius Jr said. “I thank Ednaldo, the first black president of our federation, for being here.”
He went on to thank other players in La Liga and across the world for having lent their support in public and private. He thanked La Liga, who he said were “doing well, but they can’t punish people because racism is not a crime here”, and Real Madrid.
Last year, La Liga president Javier Tebas was forced to apologise following tweets reprimanding the Brazilian forward following the abuse he suffered at Valencia. The forward has felt unprotected by his club side at various points — compounded by a recent social media post that Madrid said had been an “error”. In May last year, he was left with serious doubts about his Madrid future after the incidents at Valencia’s Mestalla ground. But he has valued two recent statements made by the club in support of him and now feels they are committed to protecting him.
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Real Madrid becoming like mid 2000's Arsenal with the amount of Brehs in the squad, they're going to have to get used to it.
Fukk them. Soccer and football are both cac sports. And baseball, too.