Vinicius Jr

I thought long and hard about writing this particular column but there’s certain things that you just can’t ignore. 

I’m talking about racism in football and in particular the case of Real Madrid player Vinicius Junior. Firstly let me say I find any type of racism abhorrent and I firmly believe that if caught the perpetrators should suffer the consequences. 

But let us not be fooled that this is just a football problem as it most certainly isn’t. It’s a society problem and something that unfortunately happens in most countries around the World in some form or another. 

The UK has a problem, the ‘Kick It Out’ campaign has a high profile within sport in the UK. It’s mantra is, it is against all discrimination, in all its forms. Racism. Sexism. Homophobia and Transphobia. Sport is used as a tool to promote this as it has such a high number of people interested in it. 

But are the UK dealing with it well? For me a perfect example is the current case of Ivan Toney. Hear me out, I know his case was a betting scandal. He was banned from football for eight months with immediate effect last week after admitting 232 breaches of the FA’s betting rules. He will be banned until January 16, 2024 and has been fined £50,000. 

Remember Luis Suarez? A Liverpool player at the time who was found guilty of racially abusing Patrice Evra of Manchester United. His punishment? He was banned for just eight games and fined £40,000 by the FA. That tells you all you need to know. Footballs governing bodies from FIFA to UEFA to the FA and La Liga to name a few, need to seriously stamp this out in football. It’s been going on for years and nothing seems to get done. The biggest problem you’ve got is nearly all of them who couldn’t find their backsides with two hands and a funnel!

So how are Spain combatting this problem? 

I don’t think you should mix sport and politics but it is no secret that the far right political party Vox are making gains into Spanish politics. Just a point but let’s stick with the football. 

Since I started writing this Valencia have been fined £39,000 and one of their stands where the racist chants started has been closed for five matches. 

I remember going to an England football match on the Spanish Mainland and our black players were subjected to racist abuse. A few weeks ago I saw Real Mallorca play Real Madrid and a Mallorca fan was fined 4,000€ and banned from attending any sporting venues for 12 months. For shouting racist abuse against Vinicius Jr. I personally didn’t hear any racist chanting at that game. 

What didn’t look or sound good was the President of La Liga after the Valencia game saying to Vinicius Jr, “Before criticising and insulting La Liga, it is necessary that you inform yourself properly. Do not let yourself be manipulated and make sure you fully understand each other’s competencies and the work we have been doing together.”

How do you think that went down? So badly he had to apologise. Señor Tebas is always banging on about how much better La Liga is than the Premier League. But he needs to understand that players, broadcasters, sponsors and indeed fans will not agree unless they can see a definite plan to eradicate racism. 

Carlos Ancelotti the Real Madrid manager gave Vinicius the opportunity to come off of the pitch but he quite rightly didn’t. Don’t let them win would be my mantra. Some people are saying that with his actions he brings it onto himself. I couldn’t disagree more, that’s just an excuse for the abuse. He’s 22 years old and should not be subjected to this in any way shape or form. What I also can’t get my head around is Valencia and other teams where this has occurred have black players in their team, what must they be thinking?

The referee on the pitch has three options;

1st instance – referee asks a message to announced that if racial abuse persists, the game will be stopped.

2nd instance – referee stops game and takes players off the pitch.

3rd instance – match is abandoned.

I think this needs looking into as you are more or less condoning it until the referee decides to take the players off. 

A far more powerful statement would be for the players themselves to walk off. This however has consequences as the team that decides to do this forfeits the match 3-0. That too needs looking at in my opinion. 

If I was Javier Tebas, I would take this by the scruff of the neck and use Vinicius in a campaign to stamp out racism. If you want to build La Liga into the biggest and best league in the World that will attract players of all colours and creed then this is your perfect opportunity. But I seriously wonder if there’s a will to stop this. 

I’ll finish on a lighter note. The World Watercress Eating Championships took place last Sunday in Alresford, Hampshire. Entrants from all over the county including Portsmouth, Brockenhurst, Andover, Alton, Winchester and even Birmingham lined up to eat 80g of watercress in the quickest time. Although it was a tight contest between local man Glenn Walsh and former champion, fellow local Sam Batho, Glenn pipped Sam at the post with his time of 31.29 seconds, taking the title for a 15th consecutive year.

Enjoy your weekend!

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.00-10am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com