The Spanish league’s chief has explained what he meant in the tweet he posted about Vinicius Junior.
LaLiga president Javier Tebas apologized for a tweet that was misinterpreted regarding Vinicius Junior. He also stated that the Spanish Federation (RFEF) should be doing more to combat racism as the league does not currently have the authority to do so.
This comes after Vinicius was subjected to repeated racist abuse in Spain. During last Sunday’s LaLiga match between Real Madrid and Valencia, the game was stopped after the winger identified a fan as having racially abused him.
Afterward, Vinicius claimed that “racism is normal in LaLiga” and that “in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists.” Tebas responded on Twitter to dismiss these claims. He even shared video footage of the player backing LaLiga’s actions against racism.
In an interview with ESPN Brasil, Tebas said: “I always tell this to my entire work team. When people or an important part of them understand a message in a certain way, then they are right so I have to be sorry because I think my message was not understood, especially in Brazil.
“So, I have to be sorry because I think my message and the intent with which I wrote it, an important part of it was not understood, especially in Brazil. My intent was not to attack Vinícius, but rather to clarify that Vinícius just one month ago made a video supporting the actions of LaLiga [against racism].”
During Real Madrid’s 2-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday, the players took to the pitch with Vinicius’ No.20 jersey. The captains of the respective teams also carried anti-racism messages on their armbands.
The supporters chanted the injured 22-year-old’s name as a show of solidarity in the 20th minute of the game.
'We are all Vinicius, enough is enough' 👊 pic.twitter.com/9rWubWTHHQ
— GOAL (@goal) May 24, 2023
“PM1_2897” by Web Summit is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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