Former Manchester City and England defender Micah Richards said the response of La Liga president Javier Tebas to the racist abuse suffered by Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr “makes my blood boil”. The latest incident has seen Vinicius receive support from the footballing world and widespread condemnation of how the incident has been handled, including from the Brazilian government. After the match, Vinicius and Tebas were involved in a row on Twitter, with the Brazilian saying La Liga “belongs to racists” and “in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists”. Tebas responded by saying Vinicius twice did not turn up for a meeting to discuss what it “can do in cases of racism”, adding: “Before you criticise and slander La Liga, you need to inform yourself properly.” In response, Richards said: “Javier [Tebas] has tried to make himself the victim in all this, it’s absolutely embarrassing what he has come out with in his statement. It makes my blood boil and that is part of the problem. It’s not just a football issue, it’s a life that people go through every single day.” He added that measures to try and curb racism in the game were “not working” and that “people don’t care enough”. Fellow pundit and former Blackburn and Chelsea striker Chris Sutton called for Tebas to be removed from his position. Vinicius also posted a statement on social media listing the instances of abuse he has suffered this season and said they were not “isolated cases”. He asked what was missing to criminalize these people and punish the clubs sportively, and why don’t the sponsors charge La Liga? Burnley manager and former Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany commented on the post, writing: “My heart is bleeding when I see these images. So much has already been endured by our fathers and mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers… and still the fight is not over. Our children will not grow up in a world where discrimination and hate prevails. They will know their worth and they will never bow down to those who chose to discriminate, separate and hate. Vinicius, You Are Not Alone. We stand together and we are stronger than ever.” Real Madrid have reported the abuse towards the 22-year-old to the Spanish prosecutor’s office as a hate crime. Spanish prosecutors will now decide whether to pursue a criminal investigation.
