PANAJI: Nobody has endured as much hate as Vinicius Junior in Spanish football. Since 2020, the Real Madrid striker has been constantly abused. Of the 12 cases that have been officially reported by La Liga, nine involve Vinicius, while five of those incidences have occurred this year itself.
It was only after the latest reported incident of racist abuse aimed at Vinicius at Valencia on Sunday that action appeared to have been taken. The club was fined, a partial stadium ban was also imposed, and Vinicius’ claims that racism is normal in La Liga damaged the reputation of the world’s second-best football league.