After being approved by the State of Rio, a law called “Vini Jr” which provides for the cessation of football matches in the event of racist behavior, has been adopted in Brazil.
This bill follows the insults suffered at the end of May in Spain by the Real Madrid striker. Vinicius Junior was, on this occasion, honored this week at the Maracana Stadium in Brazil, and decorated with the main distinctions awarded by the regional and municipal assemblies of Rio de Janeiro.
” It’s a very special day and I hope my family is very proud. I am very young and I did not expect that, so young, I would find myself at the Maracana, in a place so special to me, to receive this tribute”, the Los Blancos player said during the event.
And to add: “Sometimes I wonder if I deserve so much. I did not expect to receive so many awards and receive all this affection at the Maracana, where I attended and played so many Flamengo matches. It is exciting “.
The “Vini” law also provides for the dissemination of awareness campaigns during half-time and the implementation of public policies to help victims of racist acts.
According to preliminary data from the Observatory of Racial Discrimination in Football, complaints of racism in stadiums increased by 40% in 2022 in Brazil.
As a reminder, on May 21 at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, Spain, the Brazilian striker was insulted fifteen minutes from the end of the match between Real Madrid and the local team, counting for the 35th day. of the Spanish championship. The 22-year-old was sent off at the end of the match following a scuffle. He had previously refused to enter the field, after the insults described as racist, before changing his mind.
A few minutes after the end of the match, he denounced on social networks “the normal racism in La Liga”, saying that “it was not the first time, nor the second, nor the third […] that he was a victim of racism.
The next day, May 22, Real Madrid announced that they had filed a complaint with the Spanish public prosecutor’s office. “Real Madrid condemns the events that took place yesterday [dimanche, NDLR] against our player Vinicius Junior and opposes it vigorously, ”wrote the club merengue.