Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Brazil legend Ronaldo are among those to have shown their support to Vinicius Junior in another La Liga racism storm.
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The Real Madrid forward was subjected to more vile taunts from the stands during a La Liga fixture at Valencia on Sunday.
Vinicius confronted some of those aiming discriminatory abuse in his direction, before later being sent off in the game, and has once again spoken out against the lack of action being taken by Spanish authorities.
While the 22-year-old feels as though he is fighting a losing battle – one he has having to take on almost single-handedly – friends and countrymen have rallied around him.
Paris Saint-Germain superstar Mbappe has posted on Instagram: “You’re not alone. We are with you & we support you.”
Those words were echoed by Brazil talisman Neymar, who said on his social media accounts: “I’m with you.”
Selecao icon Ronaldo – who spent time with Barcelona and Real Madrid in his playing days – has also joined the calls for La Liga to stand up to the racists that continue to tarnish the division’s image.
R9 has said: “Once again an episode of racism on @vinijr. Once again with @laliga. When does it stop? As long as there’s impunity and complicity, there’s racism. It is inadmissible that referees, the Federation and authorities remain without action. Enough is enough. Vini count me in your fight in our struggle.”
Former England international defender Rio Ferdinand is another to have accused La Liga of sweeping a serious issue “under the carpet AGAIN”, adding in a lengthy Twitter post: “How many times do we need to see this young man subjected to this sh*t?”
Vinicius has been the target of racist abuse on a regular basis throughout the 2022-23 campaign, with the South American saying that “the championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano [Ronaldo] and [Lionel] Messi today belongs to racists”.
La Liga president Javier Tebas delivered a stunning response to those claims in which he suggested that Vinicius was not cooperating with the relevant authorities, leading to the 22-year-old Real star biting back at the head of Spanish top-flight football and accusing him of being “equal to racists”.
