«The racists must be exposed and the parties cannot continue with them in the stands. “We will only have victory when they leave the stadiums straight to prison, a place they deserve.” Vinicius has become the flag of the fight against racism in the world of football. From October 24, 2021 to March 15, he has been the victim of up to 18 racist attacks reported in different prosecutor's offices specialized in hate crimes, investigative courts and the anti-violence commission. A football match has never been suspended due to racist chants in Spain and no one has ever been criminally convicted for it.
Real Madrid's Brazilian striker does not hesitate when it comes to confronting racists, whether on the field of play, in the courts or on his social networks. His last proclamation was not in reference to himself but rather to what happened this weekend on the playing fields of different categories of national football, something that he has done nothing but reinforce a speech that he has been repeating in the last two years. The events that occurred with Marcos Acuña and Quique Sánchez Flores in the match between Getafe and Sevilla as well as the unfortunate episode with the Rayo Majadahonda goalkeeper, Cheikh Kane Sarr, of Senegalese origin, who ended up expelled for confronting his attackers in the duel that Madrilenians disputed in Sestao, show the need for a strong hand with anyone who goes to football to racially insult a footballer.
The goalkeeper would have suffered shouts of “fucking black shit”, as well as monkey sounds, on the Las Llanas field, where Sestao River of the First Federation is home; the Argentine defender of Sevilla, more of the same at the Getafe Coliseum, where a former coach of the house and current coach of the Seville team had to hear derogatory cries of “gypsy.” «This does not depend on one person alone, it depends on society. We all need to improve,” Diego Pablo Simeone, coach of Atlético de Madrid, reflected forcefully, when asked about some events that coincide in the days after Vinicius' tears, when talking about racism in football, which reached the Council of Ministers.
«Football should be a sport to unite and not to separate. Let people not come to the stadium to free themselves and say nonsense. “We must prohibit their entry,” Sergio Ramos reflected after the insults to his partner. Some offenses that will be reported by LaLiga and the FEF before the Competition Committee and the Anti-Violence Commission.
«Racism is always absolutely and totally despicable and rejectable. It has no place in a tolerant, plural and diverse society like the Spanish one,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, in recent days. The socialist politician recalled that a few months ago the Government asked to “expel and isolate racists” from football fields, without ruling out making “a legislative modification” by the Executive.
It should be remembered that unlike England, where the Premier League and the English Football Association (FA) can punish clubs or ultras for incidents of racist abuse, the Spanish LaLiga does not have the power to sanction, only to report. Since the 2018/2019 season, in addition to reporting to the Anti-Violence Commission, the employers have escalated the cases to the Hate Crimes Prosecutor's Office. When imposing sanctions, the responsibility lies with the Government Delegation, the Secretary of State for Security, the Ministry of the Interior and the Council of Ministers (according to Law 19/2007) and, on the other hand, the Royal Federation. Española de Fútbol (RFEF) and its Competition Committee (according to articles 34 et seq. of Law 19/2007).
The first trial for racism in football
LaLiga toughened its protocol against racism in 2017 and was created by FIFA, which is the highest international body in football. Therefore, it applies to all associated federations, that is, to the entire world of football and of course also to Spain. A formality after when Samuel Eto'o went to the locker room in a Zaragoza-Barcelona match in 2006 due to insults or when a banana was thrown at Dani Alves from the stands. Racism continues to play football with impunity in Spain and proof of this is that the Ministry of the Interior's crime report includes 441 administrative sanctions for racism and xenophobia in sport since 2014, but no criminal offences.
Beyond the strictly judicial sphere, the Association of Spanish Footballers and the Movement against Intolerance, organizations that have reported several racist attacks in the world of football before the State Attorney General's Office, consider that “institutions such as LaLiga, the Spanish Football Federation “Football and the Government itself have the necessary disciplinary mechanisms to act with sufficient force in the face of this type of act.”
“It is a question of will and courage to want to apply the laws, those of the administrative sphere and the Penal Code,” emphasizes lawyer Óscar Vicario to Efe, who recalls that last year racism in football went to trial for the first time after that the court number 2 of Cornellà de Llobregat announced the opening of an oral trial against the fan accused of uttering racist shouts against Iñaki Williams, the forward of Athletic Club de Bilbao, during a match against Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium on January 25 2020. It was not the first time that Williams suffered racist attacks on the field, in 2016, two years after making his debut, in a League match in Gijón they addressed him with onomatopoeia and racist insults. «I hope that the little kids who start playing football don't have to leave a game sad because they are insulted, but because they have lost and that's it. “Together we are going to achieve a fair society so that we can enjoy football and life,” he said during an interview.
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