(Football news) Real Madrid are currently the most in-form team in Europe with 9 wins in 9 games this season. This Real Madrid squad looks so much better than last season as Carlo Ancelotti is rotating the players very effectively, something which he was criticized for not doing last season. Real Madrid's youngsters are stepping up to the start and the veterans are also not showing any signs of slowing down. The on field performances is not something which has been in the news as far as Real Madrid are concerned. Racism against Vinicius Jr has been an issue and it has just gone up to a different scale as the entire world is taking notice of it. The investigation has already begun to make sure that such a thing is not repeated again.
It all started a week before the Madrid derby when Koke was asked about Vinicius Jr's dancing celebration. The Atletico Madrid captain said that there will be trouble for sure. The Brazilian had been celebrating goals by dancing which wasn't received well by opposition fans. Carlo Ancelotti has said that Vinicius is Brazilian and he doesn't mean to disrespect anyone with his dances. Koke's statement wasn't meant to be a warning as the trouble he was talking about was the reaction of the crowd. Atletico Madrid teammate Alvaro Morata defended his captain saying “Koke was laughing when he said what he said. He said it in a joking tone, because nobody likes to be scored in their stadium. Everything was out of context.”
Things got worse when the president of the Association of Spanish Agents Pedro Bravo came on El chiringuito and said “Vinicius will have to respect the opponents. If you want to dance, go to the sambadrome in Brazil. In Spain, you have to respect rivals & stop playing the monkey.” The comments went viral and Bravo was heavily criticized. Vinicius Jr made a video in which he said that “They say that happiness is annoying. The happiness of a victorious black Brazilian in Europe bothers much more." He also said that he has no intention of stopping his dances no matter how much it bothers the people. Vinicius was supported by his Real Madrid and Brazil teammates on Social media. Gabriel Jesus danced after scoring against Brentford and dedicated it to Vinicius. The hashtag 'Baila Vini Jr' was trending on twitter. Non footballers like Sean 'P Diddy' Combs also posted a video in support of Vinicius Jr. Real Madrid also put out a statement saying that they will not tolerate racism against its players and take legal action.
There were reports that El Chiringuito threatened to destroy Vinicius Jr's image if he uploaded a video but the TV show host Josep Pederol strongly denied the allegations. In the pre match press conference Diego Simeone said “Vinicius controversy? We live in a society in which we are all included, we are all people and it is the society we have.” Pedro Bravo responded to the criticism by saying “I want to clarify that expression ‘m*nkey’ to describe Vinicius' celebration dance was done metaphorically (“doing stupid things”). Since my intention was not to offend anyone, I sincerely apologize. I am sorry!” Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo, said “If he dances, I'm going to ask Vinícius to teach me how to do the samba, because I have to go to Brazil for the festivals in Rio. If he wants to celebrate, let him celebrate with respect”
Unfortunately Atletico Madrid fans didn't agree with the president as a large number of their fans shouted racist chants before the game. One fan even had a stuffed monkey with a Real Madrid scarf on it. Vinicius Jr was heavily booed and whistled in the warm up and throughout the game. The home fans kept on shouting racist slurs and even threw objects at several Real Madrid players. Atletico Madrid striker Alvaro Morata said “Everything that has happened to Vinícius makes me a little sad, because of everything he has had to hear.” What happened at the Wanda Metropolitano was a sickening sign and some measures had to be taken.
Atletico Madrid released a statement which read "We roundly condemn the inadmissible chants that a minority of fans made outside the stadium before the derby was held. We have zero tolerance for racism.” They also said that they will be asking help from local authorities to find out more about the incident. Fans who are found guilty have to be banned by the club and next time whenever there are racist chants the match has to be stopped till the fans stop. La Liga hasn't done anything so far and they need to act quickly. The league has to force Atletico Madrid to play a few matches behind closed doors which will be an appropriate punishment.
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