Xavi defended Vinícius: Racism is disgusting. Only in football are insults allowed, you don’t yell at a baker or a bricklayer like that

Again and again. Vinícius Junior was the subject of racism on an outdoor pitch in La Liga. Monkey shouts, racist chants and death wishes, all of which the Brazilian had to endure at Mestalla. However, Valencia fans unleashed such a merry-go-round that even the coach of rival Barcelona, Xavi, stood up for Vini.

There have been nine La Liga complaints about home fans during Real Madrid’s away games. Each time for the same reason – racism towards Vinicius.

A couple of times the troublemakers have been found and punished, but otherwise nothing happens. No hard change comes and the young Brazilian continues to be the number one enemy of the whole of Spain.

Already when the Real Madrid players arrived at the Mestalla stadium, Valencia fans were chanting “Vinícius, eres un mono ,” translated as “Vinícius, you are a monkey.” The same chants then continued throughout the match.

One fan reportedly yelled at Vinícius for being a monkey and a tried and true non*r. But the Brazilian saw him, ran to the stands and pointed at him. He brought in the referee, who paused the game and directly found the man who had racially abused him with his finger. But nothing happened. The entire stadium subsequently chanted for Vinicius to die, with the Brazilian shedding a tear.

And that’s where all the hate really crosses the line. A great carousel has been set in motion, with world stars voicing their support for Vinícius and calling for change. Rio Ferdinand has been very vocal, while Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, Neymar, Achraf Hakimi, several Manchester City players and almost the entire Real Madrid squad have backed the Brazilian.

Xavi’s support

Support for Vinícius also came from the ranks of the rivals, where things are otherwise very sizzling. Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández clearly condemned racism at a press conference.

“That these things are happening in 2023 is sad and disgusting. This is not about the emblem on the jersey, it’s about human beings and we must condemn any act of racism like what happened yesterday at the Mestalla against Vinícius. Apart from being a Real player, Vinícius is first and foremost a human being and must be defended and I am using my position as Barcelona coach to defend him,” Xavi said at a press conference. And he elaborated a bit on the subject of swearing.

“We are doing our job. But only in football are insults allowed on staff. They shout f*ck and other things at me just because I’m doing my job. I don’t see any other job where they have to go through that. You yell at a baker like that? A worker? You try going to a bricklayer and they’ll throw a brick at your head. The league should already be doing something about it, we need to stand up against it, there is no reason to go through it,” the Barcelona coach added and suggested a solution.

“If I go to the theatre and I don’t like it, I leave, but I don’t curse anyone. If an insult comes, let’s stop the game immediately. We need to stop this hateful environment and say enough. I have no reason to suffer insults in my working hours,” Xavi added.

Source: Twitter, El Chirinquito