The LaLiga boss apologizes for ranting about Vinicius’s racism complaint

LaLiga president Javier Tebas apologized on Wednesday for his online tirade against Real Madrid player Vinicius Jr after the Brazilian took to social media to complain about racist insults he received during a match and inaction from the Spanish league.

The match against Valencia on Sunday was halted for 10 minutes when Brazilian Vinicius pointed out to fans that he was being abused before he was involved in an altercation with Valencia players that led to his being sent off.

“Well, it seems that the result has not been very good, right?” Tebas told trendswire in an interview, referring to his much-criticized comments on Twitter in which he suggested that Vinicius find out more about what the league is doing. to combat racism “before criticizing and slandering LaLiga”.

“In other words, to all those who have understood that this was a mistake due to the form, due to the time… I have to apologize,” he said, adding that it was not his intention to attack Vinicius and blaming “the heat of the moment”.

I apologize to Vinicius and to anyone who understood that I was attacking Vinicius.”

Tebas said he shared the 22-year-old’s frustration at the lack of action to eradicate racism in Spain, and took aim at soccer organizers and Spanish authorities, saying neither was doing enough to crack down on racism.

He said he felt “powerless” to address racism in soccer as, under Spanish law, La Liga can only detect and report racist incidents.

He urged legislative changes so that LaLiga can have sanctioning power, such as the closure of stands or the expulsion of partners, in order to fight more effectively against racism.

“If they gave us those capabilities, we would end this in a matter of months,” Tebas said, blaming the lack of will of “those who have the power to impose it.”

Valencia’s south stand will be partially closed for five games and the club was fined 45,000 euros ($50,000) after the abuse suffered by Vinicius.

The abuse on Sunday in Valencia was the tenth episode of alleged racism against Vinicius that LaLiga denounced before the prosecutor’s office this season, according to Tebas, who assures that he has done everything possible to stop the matter.

Police detained seven men on Tuesday for alleged hate crime incidents against Vinicius.

“I think it’s pretty safe to say that the explosion that occurred led to the actions and let’s hope it stays that way,” Tebas said, warning that without more sanctioning powers for his organization, the changes would be “more cosmetic than real.”

“If we continue with the status quo, in LaLiga we have our doubts,” he said.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency – trendswire)