WeeklySA_AdminDISCRIMINATION: SPAIN NEEDS TO TAKE EFFECTIVE MEASURES AHEAD OF 2030 FIFAWORLD CUP
By Ali Mphaki
N@#%*… go pick some cotton!
These abuses, including being pelted with peanuts and banana peels, and more, is what black players plying their trade in Spain have endured over the years and continue to confront – that is if Brazilian and Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior’s latest experience is anything to go by.
A Mallorca fan who racially abused Vinicius Junior and former Villarreal player Samuel Chukwueze was sentenced to a year in prison and issued a three-year stadium ban on Thursday.
The supporter was “found guilty of two crimes against moral integrity, aggravated by the fact that he acted with racist motives”, Real Madrid said in a statement. The abuse of Vinicius occurred during Real Madrid’s 1-0 La Liga defeat by Mallorca at their Son Moix Stadium in February 2023, before the same fan insulted Chukwueze, now at AC Milan, a fortnight later.
Real Madrid said the football fan’s prison sentence was suspended “after the defendant apologised and showed his remorse, with a letter addressed to Vinicius, having completed an equality and anti-discrimination programme”.
It is the third criminal conviction handed down in recent months for racist insults towards Real Madrid players, in particular Vinicius, who has been the victim of numerous similar instances of abuse in stadiums across the country since arriving in Spain in 2018. In June, three Valencia fans were sentenced to eight months in prison for racist insults directed at the Brazilian striker at their club’s stadium in May 2023.
These incidents, which provoked a wave of international outrage, have sparked debate in Spain, where cases of racism have been frequent in football stadiums for decades. Real Madrid also said another supporter of Mallorca, a minor who racially abused midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, had also been banned from stadiums for a year.
“[He has] apologised and shown remorse for his conduct, and he has agreed to complete socio-educational activities in the jurisdiction of minors as proposed by prosecutors,” added Real Madrid.
Earlier in September, Vinicius Junior called for Spain to be stripped of its 2030 World Cup hosting duties unless it makes progress on the issue of racism in stadiums.
Spain’s litany of shame;
• In the 1992–93 La Liga season, the late Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper Wilfred Agbonavbare was target of racist abuse from Real Madrid fans, such as chants as Negro, cabrón, recoge el algodón! (“Nigger, motherfucker, go to pick some cotton!”)
• Ivorian midfielder Félix Dja Ettien suffered racial abuse when he first signed for Levante (where he stayed from 1997 to 2008); he was ignored by the coach due to his inability to speak Spanish and whenever he fell ill, he was accused of having malaria or AIDS.
• During a training session in 2004, a Spanish TV crew filmed Spain national team head coach Luis Aragonés trying to motivate José Antonio Reyes by making offensive and racist references to Reyes’ then-teammate at Arsenal, Thierry Henry. The phrase used was “Demuestra que eres mejor que ese negro de mierda”, translated as “Show that you’re better than that fucking black guy”.
• In February 2005, Samuel Eto’o received racially driven verbal abuse from some Real Zaragoza spectators during a match for Barcelona. The fans began making monkey-like chants whenever Eto’o had possession of the ball and peanuts were hurled onto the pitch.
His black teammate Ronaldinho, who has suffered similar abuses but less intensely, said he was fed-up with the sounds and that if Eto’o had left the pitch, he would have done the same.
• When Spain played England in a friendly match at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium soon after, on 17 November 2004, the atmosphere was hostile.
Whenever black England players touched the ball, a significant proportion of the Spanish crowd began to make monkey chants, in particular to Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ashley Cole.
“Football unites,” says Fifa president Gianni Infantino, “but we live in a divided world”, in his call for a united front in a bid to rid football of racism.
The world’s football governing body continues to ramp up its fight to rid football of racism as its No Discrimination campaign partner, United Nations Human Rights, marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racism on March, 21.
No Discrimination is an awareness, action and education campaign that aims to rid the football world of discrimination in any and every form. Launched at the FIFA World Cup 2022, the campaign has been rolled out at nine FIFA tournaments since, with its powerful and unequivocal message displayed on the big screens and pitchside advertising boards inside stadiums.
However, along with the traditional racism against Jews, Muslims and Romani, Spaniards are known to have extremely xenophobic attitudes among themselves, depending on their region of origin and/or their mother tongue. Over the last 200 years, many Spaniards have nurtured a ferocious hatred for each other, depending on their mother tongue/nationalist identity (Catalan/Valencian, Galician and Basque speakers versus Spanish speakers).
Racial profiling by police forces in Spain is also a common practice. A study by the University of Valencia, found that people of non-white aspect are up to ten times more likely to be stopped by the police on the street. On Sunday, Real Madrid will visit Atletico Madrid in a derby clash at the Metropolitano Stadium, where Vinicius has been the victim of racial abuse on several occasions.
Over the years LALIGA has provided 174 opportunities for such ribbing. Real Madrid have 91 victories, Atlético 41 wins, with 42 draws.
Aluta continua, says Vinicius Jnr.-additional reporting from Wikipedia.
