Soccer-Spanish football admits racism problem after Vinicius incident

MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish soccer has a racism problem, its football federation chief Luis Rubiales said on Monday, echoing criticism by Brazil after Real Madrid lodged a race crime complaint following insults hurled at their Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr.

The top-flight La Liga is under pressure to do more to combat racism after the Brazilian president, FIFA and fellow sporting stars such as France forward Kylian Mbappe, Rio Ferdinand and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton voiced support for Vinicius.

Real Madrid’s second top scorer this season in all competitions (23), behind Karim Benzema (29), described Spain as a “country of racists” after the match against Valencia on Sunday.

That provoked a response from LaLiga President Javier Tebas who said on Twitter that enough was being done and that Vinicius should inform himself “before you criticise and slander LaLiga”.

“The first thing is to recognise that we have a problem in our country,” Rubiales said at a press conference in Madrid on Monday. It is “a serious problem that also stains an entire team, an entire fan base, an entire club, an entire country.”

The Brazilian government on Monday summoned the Spanish ambassador to explain the incident, and its foreign ministry said in a statement that after “yet another inadmissible episode” it had concluded that effective measures had not been taken by the Spanish authorities to prevent such acts of racism.

The Spanish government’s response was low-key as the country gears up for regional elections at the weekend, with Foreign Minister Juan Luis Albares insisting late in the day that racism was “repugnant” and clashes with sporting values.

“The Spanish government will not leave any doubt or cover for any attitude of racism, intolerance or rejection of pluralism,” he added, pointing to a statement by Spain’s Sports Council that it would study footage of the game to single out any perpetrators for prosecution.

The match at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia was stopped for 10 minutes after the 22-year-old Vinicius pointed out fans who were allegedly hurling racist comments at him.

Videos posted on social media and verified by Reuters showed hundreds of Valencia fans singing “Vinicius is a monkey” as the Real Madrid bus arrived at the stadium before the match.

“I am sorry for those Spaniards who disagree but today, in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists,” Vinicius Jr wrote on Twitter.

Rubiales labelled Tebas’s comments “irresponsible.”

“Probably Vinicius is more right than we think and we all need to do more about racism,” Rubiales said.

MULTIPLE INCIDENTS

Real Madrid said on Monday they have lodged a hate crime complaint following the incident – the 10th episode of alleged racism involving the young soccer star that has been reported to prosecutors this season, according to LaLiga.

Valencia football club said in a statement it had identified one fan and was working with police to confirm the identity of others who could face punishments including lifetime stadium bans.

Spanish police continue to investigate a possible hate crime against Vinicius Jr after a mannequin wearing his number 20 shirt was hung from a bridge outside Real Madrid’s training ground in January ahead of the club’s derby match with Atletico Madrid.

Prosecutors dropped a complaint filed for racist chants aimed at the player in September during another game against Atletico Madrid.

The prosecutor archived the case because the chants of “monkey” were only said a couple of times and “only lasted a few seconds,” highlighting how Spain’s penal code makes it difficult to prosecute racist incidents at football games.

“LaLiga uses these legal cases to wash its hands, even though it actually has the power to make decisions and impose sanctions by itself,” said Moha Gerehou, a Spanish journalist and anti-racism activist.

“LaLiga should be able to close stadiums and force a number of matches to be played behind closed doors in these cases, as that puts the pressure on the clubs and the fans themselves.”

Spanish prosecutors officially investigated three cases of racist acts during the 2021-22 season, according to the Interior Ministry. Under current rules, people found guilty of racist behaviour can be fined up to 4,000 euros ($4,403) and banned from stadiums for a year.

There is growing momentum for Spain to do more to tackle the problem. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called on FIFA and LaLiga to “take real action”.

Seven-times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton sent Vinicius a virtual fist bump on Instagram, adding: “Standing with you @vinjr.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino called for LaLiga to enforce a rule that penalises clubs with points deductions if racist chants persist. He added that racists should be banned for life from stadiums worldwide. Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez called for similarly drastic measures: “You have to stop the match… One insult and everyone goes home.”

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(Reporting by Fernando Kallas, Emma Pinedo and David Latona; Writing by Charlie Devereux; Editing by Christian Radnedge)