Vini Jr. makes Spain face its own racism

Brasil de Fato

Every voting involves rejection: when you have to choose someone to win an election, it’s not uncommon that you will first think who you don’t want to win and then choose who you want to see victorious. There is no doubt that this is one of the criteria used to select the winner of the Ballon d’Or, the France Football magazine award chosen by sports journalists from all over the world.

The expectations of millions of people that this would be Vini Junior’s year were dashed. It would be another achievement in Vini’s career, crowning his performance not only on the pitch, but also off it. Perhaps this is where it lies the problem.

Brazil is a country with high levels of racism, but it was worse. In recent decades, we have been forced to have this discussion that we avoided for so long, while many still believed in the delusional myth of racial democracy.

We are far away from overcoming this problem, that started in slavery, but it didn’t end there. At very slow steps, the debate about the unjust racial infrastructure in our society goes forward, even though the achievements of this progress are constantly under threat.

Spain is not racist, but…

Even so, one can say that we are ahead of other countries, where the discussion about racism is still too uncomfortable to be put on the agenda as much as Vini Jr. does. And he does it just by existing. It’s not as if he’s the one who brought it up for the first time, Spanish stadiums have always been an outlet for racism.

On May 2023, in one of the many episodes that the player was a target for racists, at Mestalla Stadium, in the city of Valencia, he reacted. He pointed out to the referee several of those who committed these horrible acts against him.

His act of courage was responded with two very different attitudes. On one hand, many joined Vini in discussing not only racism in soccer, but in Spanish society itself. On TikTok, for example, the trend “España no es racista, pero…” (Spain is not racist, but…) appeared, in which Spaniards and dark-skinned immigrants reported shocking cases of racism suffered in the country.

This attitude was a response to another, a much more common one, represented in the speech of Josep Pedrerol, host of the program El Chiringuito, one of the most popular Spanish TV football shows. As a result, Pedrerol made a speech in which he said: “Valencia is not racist, but there are racists in Valencia. Spain is not racist, but there are racists in Spain”. 

Rather than debating the semantics of what he said, let’s stay on the fact that there is a rather bizarre concern to defend the country’s reputation first and foremost. First, they protect Spain. Then, as a minor problem, comes racism.

The fault relies on the victim

It’s common for Vinícius Jr. to be blamed for the racist attacks he suffers. Supposedly, “he provokes”. This discourse is not restricted to one ideology or one political spectrum – Borja Sanjuan Roca, president of the Socialist Party of Valencia, went so far as to say that the Brazilian player “is a disgrace to soccer”.

Vini’s “provocation” is to be himself. It’s wiggling, dancing, showing off his soccer with the traits that marked Brazil as five-time world champion. It’s also not keeping quiet when he’s offended, not covering his ears to the racists shouts coming from the stands.

When he points out fans in the stands making racist gestures, Vini causes Spain a huge inconvenience: he forces them to look in the mirror. It makes them expose the dirt hidden under the carpet. It makes racism finally need to be discussed. That’s why it’s more hated than the problem.

Diario Sport, one of the main Spanish journals about sports, published an article signed by Lluis Miguelsanz on the day of the Ballon d’Or awards, stating that Rodri won the award “for his values”. “Vinícius has a lot to learn. His protests and complaints, his reprehensible actions on the pitch and the feeling that he doesn’t learn have cost him votes,” he says.

Black people need to keep quiet to be accepted

The Spanish national team won the European Championship with two young black stars and children of immigrants: Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams. It’s clear that Spain sees these two players as a counterpoint to Vinícius, a demonstration that there is no racism.

On Saturday, Barcelona beat Real Madrid 4-0 at their opponents’ home. There were shouts and taunts from the stands against Yamal. “I didn’t notice the insults, I didn’t pay much attention to them. There’s no room for such things in soccer, but I was thinking about the 4-0 win, the team’s performance and the next match,” said the striker when asked about it.

This, unfortunately, is the attitude and values expected of Vinícius. At most, you could mention that there were racist insults, but that’s just a detail. After all, Spain, adding some irony, is not a racist country.

*Carlos Massari and Aurélio Araújo are journalists and creators of Copa Além da Copa, a project that debates History, Geopolitics, Culture and Society, and others topics linked to the sporting world.

**This is an opinion piece and does not necessarily represent the editorial line of Brasil de Fato.