FIFA president issues statement on Vinicius Jr. racism incident

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has issued a statement supporting Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior after the Brazilian was allegedly racially abused during their LaLiga game at Valencia.

The match between Real Madrid and Valencia was paused after racist chanting aimed at Vinicius was heard from a section of Valencia fans, and the Brazilian has been involved in a heated debate with LaLiga president Javier Tebas about the issue. 

Infantino offered support to Vinicius Jr. in a press release and denounced the incident involving the Real Madrid winger re-stating FIFA’s stance on racism. 

The statement started, “Full solidarity to Vinicius. There is no place for racism in football or in society and FIFA stands by all players who have found themselves in such a situation. 

“Events during the match between Valencia and Real Madrid show that this needs to be the case.” 

Infantino’s statement also outlined the proper procedure for handling racist incidents during matches, with FIFA’s three-step process for dealing with racism recommended to LaLiga for future incidents. 

Infantino said, “That is why the three-step process exists in FIFA competitions and it is recommended at all levels of football. Firstly, you stop the match, you announce it. Secondly, the players leave the pitch and the speaker announces that if the attacks continue, the match will be suspended. 

“The match restarts, and then, thirdly, if the attacks continue, the match will stop and the three points will go to the opponent. These are the rules that should be implemented in all countries and in all leagues.

“Clearly, this is easier said than done, but we need to do it and we need to support it through education.”

LaLiga has been embroiled in incidents of racist abuse this season, especially involving Vinicius Jr., with the Real Madrid winger taking to Twitter to complain about the repeated treatment he has gotten.