President of La Liga, Javier Tebas, has come to realise that he was wrong to criticise Vinicius Junior after the Real Madrid striker expressed his annoyance in a tweet after receiving racial epithets.
As Vini wrote a letter detailing the abuse he frequently experiences at stadiums throughout Spain, the La Liga president appeared to criticise the forward for “failing to inform oneself properly,” drawing harsh criticism from the football community.
Tebas has reportedly apologised to Vinicius after admitting he didn’t want to hit the Brazilian forward, according to Goal.
“I did not want to attack Vinicius, but if most people understood it that way, I need to apologise. It was not my intention I expressed myself badly, at a bad time.”
Tebas described Vini as an asset of Real Madrid and Spanish football, and said he wanted him to stay.
“I feel sorry for what happened, and that’s why we denounced it. La Liga takes care of Vinicius. And, if they misunderstood what happened [after his tweet], I have to apologise.”
La Liga has since taken action against Valencia since the incident, with the club fined and part of their stadium closed as repercussion for the racial abuse on the Real Madrid winger.
Real Madrid stand by Vinicius
Meanwhile, Real Madrid paid special tribute to Vinicius Junior after the Brazilian forward faced racist abuse in the club’s previous La Liga game against Valencia.
The men’s and women’s teams, along with the basketball squad, showed solidarity for the 22-year-old by wearing his jersey number before their games on Wednesday.
FIFA president, Gianni Infantino has also publicly supported Vinicius, Valencia has condemned the racist abuse, and Real Madrid has filed a hate crime complaint with Spanish authorities.
Vandals destroy Vinicius Jr’s poster
Earlier, Sports Brief reported that the racism row engulfing Spanish football shows no sign of abating after a poster of the Real Madrid forward Vini was defaced on Wednesday.
An image of the Brazilian player on an advertisement for stadium tours at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu was torn while the culprit left the effigy of Karim Benzema untouched.
The 22-year-old Real Madrid winger was given his marching orders for slapping Hugo Duro after being manhandled by the Valencia player, sparking jeers from home supporters.