Calacus Monthly Hit & Miss –Vinicius Jnr & Javier Tebas

Every month we look at the best and worst communicators in the sports world from the last few weeks.

VINICIUS JNR & JAVIER TEBAS

Racism in football has existed for a long time.

The days of the National Front having a presence outside grounds and bananas thrown on the pitch may be behind us, but the experiences of England forward Raheem Sterling, for instance, suggest it still exists in pockets.

Twenty years ago, England players were subjected to racist abuse at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, prompting then-Prime Minister Tony Blair to intervene which was met with hollow statements of concern from Spain which have clearly had little effect.

The likes of Dani Alves, Marcelo, and Samuel Eto’o have all fallen victim to racist abuse in Spain in the past few years, underlining the societal ignorance and endemic problem professional players face in La Liga.

But the latest incident involving Real Madrid’s Brazilian star forward Vinicius Junior has highlighted the impotence and ignorance of the Spanish football authorities as well.

Just in the past year, Vinicius has been racially abused a number of times, including Real's bitter rivals Atletico Madrid singing racist songs in September 2022; abuse at Real Valladolid while he walked past fans after being substituted; an effigy of the Real Madrid winger was hung from a bridge near the club's training ground before a game against Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey; and Mallorca fans were filmed allegedly racially abusing the Brazilian during a game against Real.

Late in May, hundreds of Valencia ‘fans’ sung "Vinicius is a monkey" as the Real Madrid bus arrived at the stadium before the match.

In a heated game, Vinicius was then sent off after calling out some of the ‘fans’ who were abusing him and clashing with Valencia players in an incident which felt like a watershed moment for football in Spain.

Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was keen to use his post-match press conference to speak about the treatment his striker endured.

He said: “La Liga has a problem" with racism. I don't want to talk about football. I want to talk about what happened here. It's more important than a defeat.

“What happened here today shouldn't happen. ... There's something bad happening in this league. For me, with these racist incidents, they have to stop the game. I told [the referee] that he should stop the game.

"[Vinicius] is very sad. It's sadness, not anger. The reaction [which saw Vinicius sent off] is quite normal. There are no buts. A stadium made racist insults. Let's see what happens. I'm curious to see. ... Nothing will happen. Usually, nothing happens.”

Who could blame Vinicius for speaking out after the match, using his platform to demand change and highlight the problem.

He tweeted: “It wasn't the first time, nor the second, nor the third. Racism is normal in La Liga. The competition thinks it's normal, the Federation does too and the opponents encourage it. I'm so sorry.

“The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano and Messi today belongs to racists. A beautiful nation, which welcomed me and which I love, but which agreed to export the image of a racist country to the world.

“I'm sorry for the Spaniards who don't agree, but today, in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists. And unfortunately, for everything that happens each week, I have no defense. I agree. But I am strong and I will go to the end against racists. Even if far from here.”

He added: “Every round away from home is an unpleasant surprise. And there were many this season. Death wishes, hanged doll, many criminal screams... All registered. But the speech always falls on ‘isolated cases’, ‘a fan’.

“No, these are not isolated cases. They are continuous episodes spread across several cities in Spain (and even in a television program). The evidence is there in the video.

“Now I ask: how many of these racists had names and photos exposed on websites? I answer to make it easier: zero. None to tell a sad story or make those fake public apologies. What is missing to criminalize these people? And punish clubs sportingly?

“Why don't sponsors charge La Liga? Don't televisions bother to broadcast this barbarity every weekend? The problem is very serious and communications no longer work. Not blaming me to justify criminal acts either. You are not football, you are inhuman.”

When a crisis occurs, it’s usually the reaction rather than the problem itself which sets the tone for how it is viewed.

The statement gave La Liga president Javier Tebas a perfect opportunity to stand in solidarity with one of the Spanish league’s finest young players and vow to address the issues facing black players.

Tebas, remember, has previous, having criticised Vinicius late in 2022 for his complaints after being subjected to abuse at the Jose Zorrilla stadium in Valladolid as he walked past fans after being substituted.

Instead of being conciliatory, Tebas came out fighting again this time and said: “We have tried to explain to you what LaLiga is and what it can do in cases of racism, but you have not shown up to either of the two agreed dates that you yourself requested. Before criticising and insulting LaLiga, you need to inform yourself properly Vinícius.”

Credit to Vinicius, he saw through the deflection and responded in kind: “Once again, instead of criticising the racists, the president of LaLiga takes to social media to attack me. No matter how much you talk and pretend not to read, it shows your competition in a bad light.

“Look at the responses to your posts and surprise yourself... Ignoring it only makes you the same as the racists. I am not your friend when it comes to racism. I want action and punishment. The hashtag doesn’t do it for me.”

Tebas continued with his denials, adding: “Neither Spain nor LaLiga is racist. It is very unfair to say that. At LaLiga, we do everything we possibly can to report and tackle racism.

“This season, there have been 9 reports of racist insults (8 of them directed at Vinicius). We always identify the culprits and file a complaint with the disciplinary bodies. It doesn’t matter if they are just a few; we are relentless. 

“We cannot allow the image of a competition that is, above all, a symbol of unity among all people to be tarnished. More than 200 black players at 42 clubs are shown respect and affection from the fans on every matchday, and racism is extremely rare (9 cases) and something that we are going to eradicate.”

Twice the governing body has run ‘La Liga against racism’ but it has had a limited impact and Tebas clearly hasn’t grasped quite how much these incidents have already tarnished La Liga – his denials suggesting that he did not grasp the seriousness of the problem both for players and the Spanish football brand.

Real Madrid made a statement, thanking fans around the world for their support. They said: “Attacks of hatred and racism must be eradicated from our society for good and this is what has been voiced by figures from all walks of life and from different national and international institutions after yesterday's events at the Mestalla stadium.

“The unfortunate events that have occurred have circled the globe and brought shame on our football…and …the image of our football is seriously damaged and marred in the eyes of the whole world.

“The referees, instead of acting with decisiveness and applying the regulatory protocols, have chosen in the majority of the cases to abstain and avoid taking the decisions that corresponded to them. 

“Yesterday, the referee and those in charge of the VAR evaded their responsibilities and made unfair decisions based on incomplete images, which were not seen completely, which were biased and which resulted in the direct sending off of our player Vinicius Júnior. 

“Unfortunately, what happened yesterday and the handling of it by the referees and the VAR is not perceived as an isolated incident, but as something that has been happening in many of our matches. The victim who experiences the crime can never be held responsible for the offence.

“For all these reasons, we are deeply concerned that no action has been taken by the Spanish Football Federation in this period of time, despite the clear and repeated warning signs that we have been denouncing through our club.

“In view of the seriousness of the current situation and the image that Spanish football is portraying to the world, Real Madrid hopes that there will be immediate and decisive action by all those with responsibility and competence to tackle the evils of racism, xenophobia and hatred. Our club will continue to strive to ensure that the values that have sustained our history continue to serve as a model of coexistence and exemplary behaviour.”

Valencia released a statement after the match which said: “Valencia CF wishes to publicly condemn any type of insult, attack or discrimination in soccer.

"The Club, in its commitment to the values of respect and sport, publicly reaffirms its position against physical and verbal violence in stadiums and regrets the events that occurred during the La Liga Matchday 35 game against Real Madrid.

"Although this is an isolated episode, insults to any player from the rival team have no place in football and do not fit in with the values and identity of Valencia CF. The Club is investigating what happened and will take the most severe measures. In the same way, Valencia CF condemns any offense and also requests the utmost respect for our fans.”

In a statement Puma, which has sponsorship deals with both Valencia and LaLiga, said: “At Puma, we do not tolerate racism, we condemn discrimination in any form and stand in solidarity with Vinicius Junior and the wider football community in condemning events yesterday.”

At a news conference after the weekend’s drama, Spanish FA chief Luis Rubiales acknowledged that Spanish football had a problem, at odds with his La Liga counterpart Tebas.  

“The first thing is to recognise that we have a problem in our country," Rubiales said.

It is "a serious problem that also stains an entire team, an entire fan base, an entire club, an entire country,” adding that Tebas's comments, were "irresponsible behaviour. Probably Vinicius is more right than we think and we all need to do more about racism.”

The incident prompted diplomatic incidents, with its ministry calling in Spain's ambassador to explain the situation.

"Taking into account the seriousness of the facts and the occurrence of yet another inadmissible episode, the Brazilian government deeply regrets that, until now, effective measures have not been taken to prevent and avoid the repetition of these acts of racism," a statement said.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called on FIFA and LaLiga to act to stop racism taking root in soccer stadiums while deputy Foreign Minister Maria Laura da Rocha said she was amazed by the repeated racist attacks on the player.

"Vinicius Jr received a red card for not enduring all that. The red card should have been given to racism.”

A number of Brazilians then protested outside the Spanish consulate two days later, with Spanish government spokeswoman Isabel Rodriguez saying: "Spain is fighting this behaviour. We condemn it and we are working to eradicate it."

Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ the Redeemer landmark had its lights switched off "as a symbol of the collective fight against racism and in solidarity with the player and all those who suffer prejudice around the world,” according to the Archdiocesan Sanctuary that manages the monument.

Three people have been arrested and it will be interesting to see if criminal charges are made but clearly more needs to be done to protect not only Vinicius but all the black players who face similar abuse in football in Spain and beyond.

Stricter penalties, education programs and awareness campaigns must be implemented to eliminate racial discrimination from Spanish football and foster a more inclusive and tolerant atmosphere.

The Spanish Football Federation, RFEF, saw sense and rescinded the red card Vinicius had received against Valencia but it’s hardly likely to address his concerns about these repeated racist incidents.

Granted, La Liga did make a statement calling for more sanctioning powers, with current rules making it feel “powerless” while Valencia were sanctioned with a partial ground closure and a small fine.

The size of the problem was illustrated, though, by Valencia’s initial, and somewhat lenient, punishment being cut on appeal from a partial stand closure for five games to three and a significant cut in the already low fine.

In their following match against Real Vallecano, which Vinicius Junior did not feature in due to injury, his team-mates all wore his named #20 shirt while his main sponsor Nike tweeted in solidarity with him.

In the 20th minute of Madrid’s 2-1 win, supporters chanted the 22-year-old's name while players from both clubs joined together holding a sign which read "Racists [get] out of football" and fans held a banner displayed in the stands which read: "We are all Vinicius. Enough is enough.”

Too little, too late given the global uproar, Tebas made a series of grovelling apologies, in stark contrast from his previous defensive approach.

He said: “I think that the message, and the intention I had, was not understood by a significant number [of people], especially in Brazil.

“I did not want to attack Vinícius, but if most people understood it that way, I need to apologise. It was not my intention, I expressed myself badly, at a bad time. But I had no intention of attacking Vinícius, but rather clarifying a situation, because Vinicius had recorded a video supporting La Liga’s actions.

“If I hurt someone, they thought I was racist, it’s far from reality. I feel sorry for what happened, and that’s why we denounced it. And we didn’t just denounce it, we took special actions at his games.

“We spoke to the clubs, so that they could provide more security, identify fans. La Liga takes care of Vinícius. And, if they misunderstood what happened I have to apologise.”

The back-tracking apology appeared as if Tebas was trying to save his own reputation rather than coming from a place of genuine understanding.

The fact that a day later he spoke again, voicing his concern for the long-term reputational damage done to La Liga by the week’s dramas, suggests self interest rather than doing the right thing was front of mind.

Tebas then said that La Liga could reduce racist incidents in six months, which begs the question about why this hadn’t happened already.

It doesn’t help that TV shows in Spain, such as El Chiringuito, have targeted Vinicius and even accused him of “playing the monkey,”, leading to brands pulling their advertising. Why a show taking that sort of stance has not been cancelled defies belief.

A week later, Brazilian clubs Cruzeiro and Vini’s former club Flamengo showed their support by sitting down for the first minute of their match, underlining the impact the continual racism in Spain has had on global sport.

The incident at Valencia should serve as a turning point, motivating La Liga and other stakeholders to do more to fight against racism.

Only through collective action can Spanish football truly be a beacon of diversity, where players of all backgrounds can thrive and feel safe on the pitch.

Until the likes of Tebas grasp the full seriousness of the problem, players will continue to see little progress.