The president of La Liga has brushed aside Vinicius Junior’s suggestion that Spain should not host the World Cup in 2030 unless action is taken over racism.
The Brazilian forward made the remarks last week and claimed the option of removing the nation as a co-host should be explored in a bid to tackle discrimination.
Two-time Champions League winner and Ballon d’Or contender Vinicius Jr has been the target of racist abuse on 16 occasions in the last 18 months while playing for Real Madrid.
Spain are due to serve as one of three main hosts of the tournament with Morocco and Portugal, while Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay will host the first three games.
And now La Liga boss Javier Tebas has dismissed Vinicius Jr’s recent statement as ‘incoherent’, Football Espana reports.
The president of La Liga Javier Tebas has brushed aside Vinicius Junior’s suggestions
The Brazilian suggested Spain could be removed as a World Cup host if racism isn’t tackled
He said: ‘I think that, if you look, you will see that his statements were not entirely consistent with what he himself says in the interview.
‘At the same time that he was saying that perhaps the World Cup should be re-considered, he was also saying that Spain is not a racist country.
‘Let’s remove what is incoherent and keep what is coherent: that Spain is not a racist country, and on that I agree with Vinicius.’
The Real forward’s remarks came after he broke down in tears at a press conference earlier this year when discussing the subject.
‘If the situation with racism in Spain does not improve before 2030, the World Cup would have to be moved to a different location,’ Vinicius Jnr said.
‘So I hope that Spain can evolve and understand how serious it is to insult a person because of the colour of their skin, because if things don’t evolve in 2030, I think we have to change the venue, because if the player doesn’t feel comfortable and doesn’t feel safe playing in a country where he can suffer racism, it’s a bit complicated.’
The 24-year-old has previously revealed that he has had conversations with Real Madrid team-mates on how they deal with any further instances that could arise over the coming months.
This includes the team agreeing to walk off the pitch if any player is racially abused by fans.
Vinicius Jnr broke down in tears when discussing racism at a press conference back in March
One such instance occurred when Madrid played Valencia, which resulted in three men being handed prison sentences
Vinicius Jnr had referenced a match against Valencia in May 2023, where the forward was sent off late on after he reacted angrily to a torrent of racist abuse aimed at him from the stands and got into an altercation with a Valencia player.
His red card was later rescinded, while three men were handed eight-month prison sentences in June for their racist remarks and gestures towards him.
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Vinicius Jnr claims Spain should be removed as World Cup host unless action is taken over racism
La Liga noted this was ‘the first conviction of its kind to be handed down in Spain’, and Vinicius Jnr believes the attitude towards racism in the country is slowly changing.
‘I want to do everything possible to change things, because there are many people in Spain, the majority, who are not racist,’ he added. ‘A small group is, which ends up affecting the image of a country in which it is very good to live.
‘I love playing for Real Madrid. I love Spain, having the best conditions to live here with my family.
‘We hope that things can evolve further, they have already evolved up to now, but they can evolve much more and by 2030, cases of racists and racism can and should decrease.’
Spain had hosted Brazil at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid’s stadium, earlier this year as part of an anti-racism match in support of Vinicius Jnr.
Football’s governing body FIFA this week launched a new universal arm gesture to signal incidents of racial abuse during matches.
The ‘No Racism’ gesture, which will see participants cross their arms when they believe an incident occurred, will empower players, referees, and team officials to take a stand against racism.
Spain hosted Brazil at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid’s stadium, earlier this year as part of an anti-racism match in support of Vinicius Jnr
FIFA confirmed the plan for the 2030 tournament last year, with six nations hosting matches
The body has launched a universal ‘No Racism’ arm gesture to signal incidents of racial abuse
The new gesture, which was approved at the FIFA Congress earlier this year, be implemented as part of FIFA’s existing three-step procedure for incidents of alleged racism.
By crossing their hands at the wrists, players will be able to signal directly to the referee that they are being targeted by racist abuse, prompting the referee to start the three-step procedure.
With the first step, the match will be stopped. If the abuse continues, the match will be suspended, with the players and match officials exiting the field of play. In the event the incident does not cease, in the third step, the match will be abandoned.
