If Spanish fans had their way, Vinicius Jr would be rotting away in an unmarked grave south of Tenerife. The Spanish Media, The Spanish fans, and even Spanish football officials have relentlessly racially targeted the talented 23-year-old. These are the same fans who lauded Sergio Ramos when he attempted to murder other players on the field. The same fans cheered vociferously when Diego Costa blitzed on opposition players. When White players do it, it’s iconic, when Vinicius Jr does it, it’s provocative. The Double Standards are glaring and reveal the racial undertones of Spanish society.
The Real Madrid star is dazzling. He is Ronaldinho reimagined. The skill that he possesses is hard for most people to fathom. The Ginga courses through his veins. He is the best player in the world when he is on song. He was instrumental in Real Madrid’s greatest Champions League campaign and even scored in the final and since Karim Benzema’s departure, he has been the star of the show. He looks set to join the long line of Ballon d’Or winners from Real Madrid’s rank. Despite being an amazing player, Vinicius Jr is the most hated footballer in the world.
His attitude is what most people would call devil may care. He isn’t afraid to pick fights. Even Diego Simeone isn’t exempt from Vini’s antics. His trash talk and Samba dances rile up racists in every stadium in Spain. Wherever he goes, he’s greeted with jeers. Basically, he is living rent-free in the head of his rivals Some people blame his attitude. They think he plays the role of the victim far too well, and that he deserves all the hate he gets for his provocative behaviour, but is this an oversimplification? Is it okay to ever justify racism just because one doesn’t like the behaviour of a person being abused? Doesn’t this mentality scream racial bigotry?
Vinicius Jr is a player with character. You may not like him, but you cannot ignore him. We’ve seen fans complain and whine year after year about the lack of personality in players, people complain that footballers are more PR machines than actual people. And yet, when a player with personality, with character, with Cojones comes along, everyone hates him? The Brazil star is far from perfect, his attitude needs some work and he lets people get to him too much, but is that enough to justify the death threats, the abuse, the hatred, the racism, and the blatant vilification of of a young black man?
When white players riled up the fans and their adversaries, they were labelled masters of the dark arts. Players like Roy Keane, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sergio Ramos, and Gerard Pique are all icons of the game. When Vinicius Jr gets into the heads of the opposition, then he’s suddenly a disease that needs to be cut off from the game and if he dares to speak up against the atrocious abuse that he faces, then he’s labelled a crybaby who plays the victim card. The fact that the media and the fans want to silence his crusade against the rotten element of racism proves the fact that the hate and distaste against him are rooted in racial bigotry and discrimination.
The people who racially abuse the young star are keyboard warriors, living in their mom’s basement with not even half of the ability that he has. Sergio Aguero recently had the gall to comment about how Vinicius does not actually face racism and instead just plays the victim card to his advantage. Aguero’s discontent may be rooted in the fact that despite being 12 years younger, Vinicius already has more Champions Leagues to his name. Who knows? A Barcelona spokesperson has even called for the young Brazillian to be slapped, I mean if they had focused on covering up all their payments to referees, they wouldn’t be in court battling to save their image and they certainly wouldn’t be a billion dollars in debt.
Love him or hate him, Vini Jr cannot be ignored. He continues to dazzle with his dribbling as he powers Real Madrid to another La Liga title and another Champions League Title. He is undaunted by the hate he receives and he will continue to be undaunted. His work ethic and intelligence are remarkable, he has all the talent in the world by his side and the words of insignificant trolls matter less than his comparisons to Ansu Fati. They may scar him with their hatred but they shall never break his resolve. He is here to stay. Baila Vini Jr.
