The president of LaLiga, Javier Tebas, assured this Thursday that the Vinicius case It marked a before and after in the commitment to eradicate racism and hatred in sport. “Now people denounce and point out those who shout hateful or racist cries. Two seasons ago, that didn’t happen. The Vinicius case was a turning point,” he said. For this reason, the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration and the entity have signed an alliance this Thursday to eliminate all uncivil speech on the playing fields. The agreement lasts three years, is endowed with 50,000 euros and its fundamental pillar is to share information and monitor hate speech on social networks through the MOOD tool (Monitor for the Observation of Hate in Sports).
The event on which the president of LaLiga focuses took place on May 21, 2023 at the Mestalla stadium (Valencia). Various fans chessThey insulted Madrid striker Vinicius Jr. First, when the bus arrived at the stadium and, later, while the Valencia-Real Madrid game was being played. It was Vinicius himself who then stopped the match to protest the insults he was receiving and pointed at an individual in the stands. The follower was expelled from the field by security members and the case ended up in court with several arrests.
This Thursday, Tebas has advocated reforming the regulations so that more hate crimes include in their sanction the removal of those who commit them from the stadiums. Regarding the match between Real Madrid and Barcelona this Saturday at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, the president of LaLiga has seemed calm. “Any racist act worries me in all games, not just in the classic. I am worried that there are many racists, intolerants or actors of violence. I hope there is not and it will be a tolerant match, as has been the case lately in many classics and as are the majority of matches we have in this competition,” he assured.
The Minister of Social Security, Elma Saiz, has defined this agreement as “historic.” “This union represents an unprecedented milestone in the promotion of inclusion and diversity in Spanish sport. “Football is a very powerful speaker for the good, but also for the bad, by offering us speeches that no football lover should allow with insults or chants that use racism and xenophobia as a thrown weapon and a way to vent,” said Saiz. The minister has also asked public officials for responsibility and forcefulness to confront these behaviors.
In addition to this new pact, Tebas has highlighted the existence of “a chat” where he receives match reports from LaLiga EA Sports and LaLiga Hypermotion “ten minutes after the end” of the match with intolerant chants or shouts. Tebas assures that, from this group, they decide “immediately” how to act if there is an act of hate.
The celebration of this event is a measure that is added to those that are already being carried out by other means. This Thursday the arrest of four instigators in the hate campaign on social networks against Vinicius before the derby at the Metropolitan Stadium was announced. Furthermore, the Prosecutor’s Office has announced that it has opened proceedings for the throwing of objects at Courtois during that same League match on September 29.