From Eto’o to Vinicius: 17 years of racist insults, filed complaints and "consequences"

• polemical Vinicius receives racist insults at the Mestalla, ends up expelled for an attack and says goodbye with “Second Division” gestures
• Abuse Vinicius explodes against Spain: “A country that I love and that is now known as a country of racists”

February 25, 2006La Romareda, Zaragoza. Samuel Eto’o threatens to leave the field after receiving racist insults. “I don’t play anymore“.

May 21, 2023Mestalla, Valencia. Vinicius Junior he suffers racist insults from the stands and threatens to go to the locker room. “It’s the usual. He called me a monkey.”

Between Eto’o and Vinicius have passed 17 long years in which Spanish football has evolved in many ways but one: there are people, even if it is a minority, who continue to use the skin color of their football rival to insult him. “Insulting because of the color of the skin is a fashion that is going to more and that it will not stop until it is severely sanctioned”, criticized the Cameroonian in 2006. Here are the examples during these years: Dani Alves, Iaki Williams, Diakhaby, AkapoUmtiti, Marcelo, Pape Diop, Paulao, Nyom…

At the time, Zaragoza received the largest fine in the history of Spanish football for this issue: €9,000. An amount “ridiculous“, as a value at the time Joseph BlatterFIFA president, and Eto’o himself: “You have to have a strong hand, but not with money. We must look for solutions together, to see if the ordinary justice It can also help”, asked the Barcelona footballer.

Now, in the middle of 2023, those statements by Eto’o serve to develop the context of what Vinicius suffered at Mestalla. The Brazilian, expelled by direct red for a slap to Hugo Duro and facing the stands, to which he made gestures of “to Second”, he received chants throughout the match such as “you’re a monkey”, “fucking black” or “uh, uh, uh” and when he got off the bus dozens of people chanted him “you are a monkey“. The racist problem is real.

Vinicius, “affected”

Encouraged by his surroundings, who yesterday clamored for the “shame“in which Spanish football has become, Vinicius published a Very harsh statement on their social networks in which he described Spain as “a racist country“. The Brazilian, with more than 40 million followers among all his profiles, is “very affected“with everything that is happening, according to what this newspaper was able to learn, but he is not considering leaving Madrid. The striker received the support of his teammates, other footballers, clubs and other sports stars, with special affection from Brazil and England. In his country, the president even spoke out, Lula da Silvaand in the British islands, with the always tempting interest of English football in gaining their services, legends like Rio Ferdinand came up with insults: “Who protects you in Spain, Vini? How many times do we have to see him go through the same shit? He needs help and the authorities don’t do fucking shit, he can’t stay under the rug any longer.”

The reality is that there is much reason in the message of Ferdinand, former Manchester United captain. Only during this season, LaLiga, which cannot sanction or close stands or stadiums (RFEF competence) He has already sent seven complaints derived from racist insults to Vinicius. 7 in 35 days. If we take into account that all have occurred in the games that the footballer has played away from home, they will be 7 in 16, almost 50%. Nine if we add the two carried out last year. Complaints that have ended up in the file of the RFEF Competition Committeeof the State Commission against Violence, Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Sport and of the Hate Prosecutor.

According to LaLiga sources consulted by EL MUNDO, before “the constant file of these complaints“, the organization raised these claims to the local courts where the racist insults had occurred.

Timeline of complaints

The first complaint came after him october 2021 classic at the Camp Nou, which was archived because the Police “could not identify” the attackers. months later, in Majorcathe Prosecutor filed the complaint because “the sounds made, profane, despicable, vexatious and regrettablethey do not seem to cover the criminal dimension that is postulated”. The Madrid derby in September last year was a turning point in the controversy of “Dance Vini Jr“, but the racist insults heard in the Metropolitan were also archived for “not integrating a crime against the dignity of the person.”

After the match against Valladolid, in December 2022, LaLiga went to the ordinary courts for the first time and the Pucela team opened file to 11 identified. And the derby arrived again, the banner and the Vinicius doll hanging from a bridge Close to Valdebebas, who is still being investigated by the Investigating Court No. 28 in Madrid.

Then Vinicius will return to Mallorca, where he will be insulted again. After the complaint by LaLiga in the Courts of Palma and the statement by the Brazilian, a fine of 4,000 euros and 12 months of exclusion from sports venues for one of the fans and the withdrawal of the license for two more.

The sanction did not serve as an example, and Vinicius received racist insults again, denounced by LaLiga, in The Sadar, the Benito Villamarn and the Camp Nou.

Madrid prepares the “consequences”

In Madrid there is “discomfort and worry“For all this situation and the club is already preparing the”consequences“of everything that has been experienced with Vinicius in recent months. The white team has already issued a statement and has denounced the insults to the Prosecutor’s Office, but it will not stop there. We will wait for the resolution of the investigation and work to give it much “love” to the player in the next home games. In Valdebebas they do not understand that they have not acted with more hardness in the sanctions and cry out against LaLiga and the Federation.

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