Real Madrid players, fans fight against racial discrimination

“We are all Vinícius.”

A unified voice was echoed by both Real Madrid players and the club’s fans to honor Vinícius Júnior, who was subjected to discriminatory comments during a match. The club’s players stood in a row in No. 20 shirts at the Bernabeu ahead of its 2022-2023 La Liga match against Rayo Vallecano on Thursday. The No. 20 is Vinícius’ uniform number in Real Madrid. The players of both teams held a banner saying, “Racists, out of football.” The two teams’ captains wore an armband with a message against racism. During the match on Thursday, Real Madrid players had their uniform numbers on the back.

In the 20th minute of the first half, audiences in the stands chanted “Vinícius” to show solidarity and support for him, as the number 20 is associated with his uniform number. Watching the game in the stands due to his injury, Vinícius stood up and gave his fans a thumbs-up. His fans showed a banner saying, “We are all Vinicius, enough already!’

Vinícius was subjected to racial discrimination in an away match against Valencia on Monday. Overhearing a group of Valencia fans calling him a "monkey,” he argued over their comments and ended up in tears. Right after the incident, he wrote on social media that it was neither the first, second nor even the third time, claiming that racism is normal in La Liga.


Bae-Jung Kim wanted@donga.com