Fight Racism: Joelinton’s Call to Action

Joelinton, the 26-year-old midfielder currently on international duty with Brazil, recently spoke out about the need for change in the fight against racism in football. After suffering racist abuse following a defeat by Arsenal last month, he said that the racism was not on the pitch, but rather in messages with racist insults he received. He added, “It’s an important moment to speak about racism. It is not something happening now, but for a long time. In the 21st century, we still see things like that. It’s hard to accept and believe that we are evolving when things like that still happen. We talk about a combat against racism but we didn’t have much of a change.” Newcastle showed their support for Joelinton on Twitter, saying, “There is no room for racism. Anywhere. We’re with you, Joe.” His Brazil team-mate Vinicius Jr was the target of racist abuse multiple times while playing for Real Madrid last season. To further combat racism, Brazil’s friendlies against Guinea and Senegal will be played in Lisbon, Portugal on 17 and 20 June as part of an anti-racism campaign.