Madrid mayor tells Vinicius Jr to apologise after call to strip Spain of World Cup over racism

Real Madrid star, who regularly receives racist abuse in Spain, wants Fifa to strip nation of World Cup if ‘there is no progress’

Vinicius Junior, the Brazil and Real Madrid star, has been told to apologise by the mayor of Madrid after declaring that Spain was a racist country and appealing to Fifa to prevent it co-hosting the 2030 World Cup finals unless the situation improves.
Vinicius, 24, has been subjected to racist abuse on many occasions during his six years at Real. More than 10 such incidents have been cited, including last season at the Mestalla, home of Valencia; in Seville and even at games he did not play in. He was abused by Atletico Madrid fans at a home Champions League tie they played in March.
Speaking to CNN, Vinicius, who broke down in tears when discussing racism in March at a press conference in Brazil, said “if there is no progress [on racism] before 2030, they [Fifa] should change the host nation [for the World Cup]”.
Vinicius also said: “The majority of people in Spain are not racist, but there is a small group that ends up affecting the image of the country.”
Spain will co-host the 2030 tournament with Portugal and Morocco with some games played in Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina to commemorate the centenary of the tournament. What has not yet been decided is the venue for the final, a prestigious event that Madrid, Barcelona and Casablanca have offered to host.
New or improved stadiums are being built in all three cities: Real Madrid’s refurbished Bernabeu, the new Camp Nou in Barcelona and a the proposed 115,000-capacity Hassan II super-stadium in Casablanca. Spain will provide 11 venues for the tournament, Morocco six, and Portugal three.
Vinicius angered the political establishment in Spain because he criticised Madrid on the world stage. The capital’s mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, a member of the Right-wing People’s Party (PP), unequivocally called on Vinicius to apologise.
He said: “I hope he rectifies his statements immediately. We are all aware that there are racist episodes in society and that we have to work hard to put an end to them. It is unfair to Spain and to Madrid to say that we are a racist society.
“Vinicius has the vast majority of Spanish society on his side to fight racism. What we cannot do is stand by his side when he calls practically the entire Spanish society, and particularly Madrid society, racist. I cannot accept it.
“He should highlight the fact that he lives in one of the most open, welcoming and diverse cities in the world. If there is one thing that characterises Madrid, it is that no one is asked where they come from or where they are going. No one is excluded here. He should apologise.”
There were also caveated responses from Vinicius’ team-mate at Real, Dani Carvajal, one of the senior players in the Spain team that won the European Championship. He expressed solidarity with Vinicius but insisted that Spain was not racist and that its role at the 2030 World Cup finals should not be in doubt.
He said: “I know what Vini suffers in those moments, having been close to him, and we support him both internally and publicly,”
Carvajal admitted that racism existed and said La Liga had tried to deal with it. He added: “But beyond that small group of people, I don’t believe Spain doesn’t deserve to host the World Cup. It’s a country with a very high cultural diversity; we shouldn’t doubt that it’s not racist because there are many cultures in our country. I grew up in a neighbourhood in Leganés surrounded by many nationalities, and I can proudly say that we are not a racist country,”
Spain’s Euro 2024 winning coach Luis de la Fuente also rejected Vinicius’s claim. He said: “Spain is not racist. It’s an example of co-existence, respect, and integration. A model that many should look up to. Of course, there are always a few undesirables, but that’s something we need to work on to eradicate them.”