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Racism in Spain: Remember other cases like Vinícius Júnior at Real Madrid

Racism in Spain: Remember other cases like Vinícius Júnior at Real Madrid

The racist insults uttered on Sunday by Valencia fans against Brazilian striker Vinícius Juniordo Real Madridrecalled other moments of prejudice in Spanish football, marked by similar cases in the last 40 years against athletes such as Ronaldo Fenômeno, Daniel Alves and Samuel Eto’o.

Thomas Nkono and the insults at Camp Nou

A legend of Cameroonian football, but virtually unknown when he arrived at Espanyol in 1982, Thomas Nkono was the victim of racist chants and bananas thrown towards the Camp Nou lawn in a match against Barcelona.

“The most curious thing is that part of the stadium called me everything, while another part booed for them to stop. I’ve always seen that as a challenge,” Nkono told El Confidencial newspaper.

Hiddink and the Nazi Flag

In the warm-up of the Valencia-Albacete match in 1992, Valencia coach Guus Hiddink sees a Nazi flag in the sector of the Albacete fans’ stands.

The Dutchman asked a club official to remove the flag, threatening not to start the game as long as the swastika remained visible.

“When I see this kind of thing I can’t stay silent,” declared the Dutch coach.

Photo: Playback/ Valencia

Kameni and the Monkey Screams

Nkono’s compatriot and successor at Espanyol, Carlos Kameni was also the target of ‘monkey’ chants by part of the Zaragoza crowd in 2004.

“My worst moment”, said the goalkeeper in 2017. “We were winning 1-0 and I was insulted by everything. Even the referee asked if I was okay to continue. I didn’t know where I was, but I found the strength to continue playing”.

The incident was not an isolated one: five months later, Kameni was the target of bananas being thrown at Atlético de Madrid’s stadium. “When a person goes through something like this, they can go back home and commit suicide. Nobody can imagine what I experienced”, said Kameni in 2020.

Ronaldo and the water bottle

In March 2005, Brazilian striker Ronaldo Nazário of Real Madrid threw a water bottle at Malaga fans after being the victim of racist insults.

A few days earlier, at the same stadium in Málaga, striker Paulo César Wanchope (Costa Rica) attacked a fan of his own club for imitating monkey screams.

Samuel Eto’o: “I don’t play anymore”

Barcelona’s Cameroonian striker was the target of racist abuse and kicked a ball towards the crowd when he was the target of monkey-like chants from Getafe fans in 2004.

Two weeks later, against Albacete, Eto’o suffered racism again. In 2005, the player celebrated a goal by imitating a monkey.

In 2006, after further racist insults in Zaragoza, Eto’o decided to leave the pitch. “I don’t play anymore”, he declared to the referee, who tried to convince him to respond by remaining on the pitch. After the intervention of several people, Eto’o changed his mind and completed the match. The Spanish Federation fined Zaragoza 9,000 euros (25,364 reais at the time).

Daniel Alves and the banana

In April 2014, Brazilian winger Daniel Alves was also the victim of an incident of racism during a match between Barcelona and Villarreal. Shortly before taking a corner, a fan threw a banana in the direction of the athlete. He peeled and took a bite of the fruit as a way of responding to the attack before returning to the match.

Villarreal was fined 12,000 euros (37,201 reais at the time) and with the closure of part of the stands for one match.

Daniel Dani Alves Racism Banana Barcelona
Photo: reproduction

“We are all Williams”

In 2020, striker Iñaki Williams, from Athletic de Bilbao, was the target of monkey screams when he was substituted during a match at Espanyol’s field. The Basque striker had already been the victim of racist insults in Gijón in 2016 and the referee stopped the match for a few minutes.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez condemned the acts and sports newspaper Marca, Spain’s best seller, wrote on its front page: “Enough of racism. We are all Williams.” Two Espanyol fans were investigated by the courts.

The list of players who have been victims of incidents of racism includes names such as Iñaki’s brother, Nico Williams, Mouctar Diakhaby, Frédéric Kanouté, Yaya Touré, Jefferson Lerma, among others.


Source: Gazetaesportiva

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