“He called me a monkey. This one,” he said, pointing again. “This one.”
That May incident in Valencia, Spain, was not the first time Real Madrid superstar soccer forward Vinicius Junior of Brazil suffered racist abuse last season playing in Spain’s La Liga league.
There was the time outside Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in September 2022. It happened at Valladolid in December 2022. And in January, a group of Atletico Madrid fans hung a mannequin wearing his jersey from a Madrid bridge.
It was one of 11 racist incidents during the 2022-23 La Liga campaign and those are just the cases that were reported.
There was one at Barcelona‘s Camp Nou in March, and Real Betis’ Benito Villamarin. At Osasuna‘s El Sadar, and Mallorca‘s Son Moix in April.
“This wasn’t the first time, or the second, or the third,” Vinicius exclaimed. “Racism is normal in La Liga. The competition thinks it’s normal, the federation does too, and opponents encourage it.”
Mic drop! This time, Vinicius Junior had enough.
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Vinicius’ reaction was the direct result of years of frustration over the failure to acknowledge racism in Spanish football. It sparked a response and the start of a transformation.
Real Madrid offered an unprecedented show of support the next matchday after the Valencia incident, with the team wearing Vinicius’ No. 20 pregame tops at the Santiago Bernabeu. A massive banner, “We are all Vinicius. Enough is enough,” hung behind a goal. It was powerful, it was emotional. It was real.
In the wake of the Vinicius Junior incident last season, La Liga recognized that it had a responsibility to create an environment where all players can thrive free from racism. And it had to act now.
With this in mind, a group of 11 La Liga satellite offices around the world chaired by Keegan Pierce, an Oakland, California, native, launched a comprehensive campaign aimed at eradicating racism from the sport and promoting equality. Pierce spent his early years at Soccer America Magazine and with MLS’ Chivas USA club.
LALIGA VS Racism and its new platform will bring together initiatives against intolerance and will help to reinforce the organization’s stance aimed at the eradication of racism in football.
The league and its clubs kicked off the 2023-24 season with a call for respect and inclusion in stadiums and on La Liga’s television broadcasts, in club-level education, and programming geared toward awareness and continuing education.
“When you have this kind of initiative, the only metric that matters is zero tolerance,” Adrian Segovia, executive vice president — head of content & distribution at LaLiga North America. Segovia is a leading member of the league’s anti-racism committee, said. “We know this is something that needs to change. We know we need to do more. We know we have to fight every day and we know we have to support the victims 100%.”
Part of the foundation of the campaign is raising awareness about the impact of racism, providing educational materials for fans, players, and coaches, and ensuring that the fight against racism reaches into communities.
The campaign aims to be a source of inspiration for football fans and people around the world. For the first time La Liga is modeling to its country that the fight against racism is not a burden to be shouldered by a few, but a responsibility shared by all.
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While the impact of Real Madrid’s support of Vinicius Junior and the LALIGA VS Racism initiative on the broader fight against racial abuse may not be immediate or absolute, it contributes to a growing movement in soccer to address racism and create an environment where all players are treated with dignity and respect.
Real solidarity involves standing alongside others in the pursuit of justice and equality, actively working to create a more inclusive and equitable society, and recognizing that everyone’s liberation is intertwined.
The fight against racism means consistently living by anti-racist principles and values and is an ongoing process that requires continuous self-reflection, education, and, most importantly, action. It means being willing to acknowledge historical and present-day injustices faced by marginalized communities and taking a stand against them. It involves engaging in uncomfortable conversations, challenging discriminatory behavior, and supporting initiatives and movements that strive for racial justice.
The world is seeing and respecting Black talent more, seeing the realities, the struggles, the fight, the anger and outrage, sadness and fire caused by racism.
It’s a hard irony: Clubs are keen on being first market movers in every other aspect of modern club football except the fight against racism. Racism in soccer makes as much sense as wearing shin guards outside of the socks. It will always beg the question why.
Real Madrid’s support of Vinicius in the face of racial abuse and La Liga’s response is significant for global soccer. By publicly standing for their players and condemning racial abuse, the club and league demonstrate their commitment to fostering an environment of inclusivity, respect and equality, modeling the behavior needed for change.
Vinicius turned himself into a leading man in the fight against racism in the world’s game since that day in May in Valencia. Seeing Vinicius and rap mogul Jay-Z photographed soon afterward, made me think out loud, “what is understood, never has to be explained.”
Real Madrid gave Vinicius the club’s iconic No. 7 for the season. Brazil wore Black Nike jerseys in solidarity for the first time. It was true 21st century player care and empowerment on display.
Maybe it is changing. Maybe not. One thing that is clear: “Our” fight is turning into OUR Fight.
