Racism is a significant problem in Spanish football.
This season, Vinicius Jr. has been the subject of five separate allegations of racial abuse. Guillem Balague, a Spanish football journalist, claims that "nobody in Spain has ever been sentenced or punished for a racist incident related to football.".
However, have we now arrived at a "turning point"?
The Mallorca fans are at least the third group of supporters to racially abuse the 22-year-old Brazilian winger for Real Madrid, and he has repeatedly called on the authorities to crack down.
He was compared to a monkey on Spanish television in September. An effigy was hung from a highway bridge close to Real's practice field last month.
La Liga claims it frequently refers racism cases to local public prosecutors but is unable to take enforcement action.
Why has no one received punishment?
Contrary to other football governing bodies, La Liga claims it is powerless to punish racist behavior by supporters.
Anyone found to have acted in a racist or abusive manner could face a ban from the Premier League in England.
Even though many believe their sanctions are not severe enough, Uefa and Fifa both punish teams for racial abuse from their supporters.
After last year's Champions League matches against Manchester City, Uefa penalized Spanish teams Atletico Madrid and Sevilla by closing a portion of their grounds and fining them 5,000 euros, respectively.
La Liga, however, is only able to make reports to various legal bodies; none of these reports have ever resulted in a prosecution.
Raphael Honigstein stated on the BBC Euro Leagues podcast that "certainly there must be mechanisms within football - either La Liga or the Spanish FA - that say if the crowd misbehaves and the officials hear this there can be a punishment, the game can be abandoned, and clubs can be fined.".
"There needs to be a sporting system to handle this. I don't understand why La Liga claims that we reported them to public prosecutors, but since we didn't hear back, that's all we can do. It doesn't seem like a very satisfying response.
Balague said, "I do believe La Liga when they say they can't do any more because it's outside of their purviews and they don't have the power to do it. However, the other authorities ought to change course.
La Liga reports these slurs to the public prosecutor's office, which may result in a civil court case. Additionally, they can report it to the state commission against racism, violence, xenophobia, and intolerance.
The competition committee is another option. According to the federation. To address this, the competition committee hasn't taken any significant action.
"The rules are very clear; if they [authorities] have enough evidence they can go and punish someone, but in many cases they claim they don't know who did it, they don't have enough information, or they don't have enough evidence so shelf the cases.
La Liga recently highlighted six cases along with their most recent legal standing.
- By Inaki Williams: A Catalan court has transferred the case involving Espanyol supporters who yelled racial epithets at an Athletic Bilbao player in January 2020 to the Public Prosecutor's Office and La Liga (as the accusing party) so that they may ask for the start of a trial.
- Nik Williams: A Real Betis supporter racially taunted Nico, a teammate of Inaki's on the Athletic squad, in March 2022. After investigating the fan's social media accounts, it was determined that "he is not a person who intends to encourage racism," and the case was thus closed.
- Vinicius Junior: Following the Clasico in October 2021, La Liga lodged a complaint with the Barcelona Public Prosecutor's Office for Hate Crimes. As "the acts' perpetrators have not been identified," the complaint was dismissed.
- Vinicius Junior (2). Separate from the most recent claim, an investigation into Mallorca fans in March 2022 was abandoned because it was determined that the case lacked "the public criminal dimension that is being claimed.".
- Jr. Vinicius (3): There were reports of racist chants directed at Vinicius Jr. by Atletico Madrid supporters in September 2022. Even though it only lasted a few seconds and occurred during a game with intense rivalry, the Madrid public prosecutor's office described wider racist chanting as disagreeable, inappropriate, and disrespectful.
- Carlos Akapo says: Racist slurs were directed at Akapo while he was playing for Cadiz in a match against Granada in February 2022. The fan turned himself in to police after being recognized by the club. The Granada Public Prosecutor's Office is still looking into it for hate crimes a year later.
According to European football journalist Julien Laurens, prosecutors need to improve. They appear to be looking for justifications to let people off, It falls short.
"It feels like something is changing because this week a procedure against fans by their own club started," continued Balague. 10 fans were warned that they would be banned by Valladolid after he claimed that this was related to racist remarks made about Vinicius.
"But the club says these are isolated incidents and adds that it doesn't necessarily mean that fans are racist. The root of the issue is that.
Why is it always Vinicius Jr.?
There are many instances of racism in Spanish football, but a lot of them seem to revolve around Vinicius, one of the best players in La Liga.
In 137 La Liga games, he has 32 goals and 17 assists, helping Real Madrid win the league twice and the Champions League once.
Vinicius is a victim of something I can't explain. Carlo Ancelotti, his boss, insisted that it must be resolved.
It appears that Vinicius is the issue, but it is not like that.
His goal celebrations were compared to a monkey's earlier this season by a panelist on a Spanish football program. Vinicius responded to the "xenophobic and racist" remark with a video statement in which he declared he "won't stop dancing" and claimed that many people are "bothered" by the success of a black Brazilian in Europe.
Laurens remarked about the most recent events: "This has to be a turning point. In the modern era, I can't think of another player who has faced as much abuse from opposing fans and defenders both on and off the field as Vini has. It's abhorrent.
"The media haven't taken the whole thing seriously," Balague said. The discussion that should be taking place is not about whether Vinicius is to blame for what is happening to him or whether the increase in racial incidents in stadiums is a result of his provocative dribbling.
"Those who blame Vinicius point to statistics and claim that he hasn't scored in nine games, that he performs poorly when provoked, and that all the players and fans are doing is inciting him to become a weaker version of Vinicius.
"What a terrible thing to say—saying that racial epithets are acceptable—that everything is permitted for that to occur.
The social problem in Spain.
However, racism in football is far from unique and is always a manifestation of racism in general society.
"Aside from the work La Liga is doing, I don't think anyone is really interested in fighting against this in an open and obvious way. Balague, a Spanish man, said, "Socially, it doesn't feel like a pressing matter to do.
"There is no sense that this is an urgent matter on the streets of Spain. Many people attribute what's taking place to Vinicius.
Because football media generally don't view sport and football as serious issues, this is why Spanish sports media don't take this seriously. You can argue about it being cartoonish.
"You support one group. Journalists for Real Madrid are biased against Barcelona. Extreme debates are taking place. There is no desire to remove this from the sporting context and thoroughly research it.
In the UK, there is constant debate and discussion about it; it can be heard or seen on radio or television at some point. Spain and Italy are not affected by it.
"No nation is perfect. It is a daily battle that will go on forever. Discrimination seems to be present all the time. We should learn a lot from what has occurred in the UK and what is occurring in France, in my opinion.
It must involve everyone, said Laurens. La Liga, the government, and education must all be involved. Educate kids about racism and what it means to have a different skin tone by going to school. To prevent what we are seeing now from happening again, all of that must exist.
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