Vinicius Junior broke down in tears on Monday as he talked about the racist insults he suffered in Spain, saying what he had experienced was causing him to lose his will to continue playing.
Vinicius spoke candidly about his fight against racism on Tuesday, on the eve of the One Skin friendly between Spain and Brazil at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. The stadium was set up to raise awareness about racism almost a year after Brazil’s national team player was subjected to a racist assault. He was insulted during a Spanish league match in Valencia.
“What I’ve been through here is very sad,” Vinicius said. “It’s hard. I’ve been fighting this for a long time. It’s exhausting because I feel like I’m alone. I’ve filed numerous official charges and no one has ever been punished. ”
Spain’s match against Brazil comes just days after a fresh wave of racist and hateful insults targeted Vinicius during the match in Spain. “I’m losing more and more of the desire to play,” he said. “But I’ll keep fighting.”
The 23-year-old Real Madrid player had to collect himself several times after breaking down in tears during Brazil’s pre-match press conference at Madrid’s training camp. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I just want to continue playing football. I want to continue doing everything I can for the club and my family.”
Vinicius said that while it would have been easier to quit the fight, he was “chosen to protect this important cause.” He said he had no intention of leaving the Spanish league over the insults, saying: “That would give the racists what they really want.”
“I’m going to stay here, play for the best club in the world, score goals and win titles,” he said. “And people will have to keep looking at my face for a long time.”
Vinicius feels supported by other players in the Spanish league and does not consider Spain to be a racist country, but says: “There are a lot of racists in Spain and many of them “I’m going to the stadium,” he said.
“That needs to change,” he said. “Maybe people don’t really understand what racism is. I’m 23 years old and I’m starting to talk about racism and how it affects me and We have to educate a lot of people about how it affects families at home.”
Vinicius admitted that he sometimes needed to improve his on-field attitude, but said: “I wish people would talk less about his bad things and more about the insults towards him.”
Vinicius, who also asked FIFA, UEFA and other organizations for support in the fight, said he had studied racism well and felt he was ready to speak out on the issue.
