A Look at How Sports Persons Fight Against Racism After Vinicius Junior’s Ugly Incident

• Vinicius Junior suffered yet another racial abuse incident in a highly-charged La Liga match between Real Madrid and Valencia
• The Brazilian was sent off, with figures led by FIFA President, Gianni Infantino roundly criticising the abuse
• Sports persons have continued to speak against the vice, but little has been done to change the situation

A quick scan through Vinicius Junior's social media updates after the recent ugly racism incidents at the Mestalla Stadium depicts a picture of someone who is in pain; someone who feels let down by the same system that is supposed to protect him.

There has been overwhelming support for the Brazilian, with Real Madrid's head coach, Carlo Ancelotti and Brazil's football federation leading the onslaught in condemning the vile abuse targeted at the winger.

As BBC Sport reports, of the nine racism complaints that have been filed with La Liga this season, eight of them have been against Vinicius. The societal ill remains a big issue, not only in football, but in sports in general, despite concerted efforts in recent times to eradicate it.

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Taking the knee

Black English players were racially abused after they lost the Euro 2020 final to Italy. Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho missed their penalty kicks at Wembley Stadium. In 2019, the players, joined by their respective clubs, participated in a campaign dubbed #Enough, where they boycotted social media for 24 hours.

This initiative complemented the existing 'taking the knee' before kickoff to raise awareness on the rights of people of colour. But with cases still rampant, these methods do not seem as effective as envisaged.

In a past interview with Sky Sports News, former Watford striker, Troy Deeney narrated how common it is for a black player to be abused.

"I get up to 40 racist messages a week. You can talk about my football as much as you want. I just don't understand why you have to talk about the colour of my skin or try to make me feel less for being an individual of colour."

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Many fans have argued that taking the knee has since become irrelevant, with players like Wilfried Zaha pulling out of it.

"I feel like taking the knee is degrading. I think the meaning behind the whole thing is becoming something that we just do now. That’s not enough. I’m not going to take the knee," the Crystal Palace winger said, as quoted by the Guardian.

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Colin Kaepernick's strong message against police brutality toward black people in the United States of America remains one of the boldest steps by an athlete. The NFL star refused to stand during the national anthem and elected to take a knee instead, as the Washington Post reported.

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour. To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way," he said in 2016.

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Former US President, Barack Obama voiced support for Kaepernick's cause, but his successor Donald Trump wasn't too amused by players failing to stand during the national anthem.

Lewis Hamilton

Record Formula 1 champion, Lewis Hamilton has also consistently used his platform to advocate for racial justice. The Mercedes driver went through a traumatising experience first-hand when he was young.

"The things that are either thrown at you, like bananas or people that would use the N-word, just so relaxed. People call you half-caste and not knowing where you fit in. That was difficult," he said on Jay Shetty's podcast.

He was the first black driver to win an F1 championship in 2008. He later set up the Hamilton Commission to try to increase the representation of black people in the game.

Punishments for racism

The world governing body for football, FIFA, amended its disciplinary code in 2019 to introduce stricter measures against racial abusers. As Reuters reported then, a fine of 20,000 Swiss Francs was imposed on the offending club or country, plus other punishments like stadium bans.

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FIFA might have taken cognizance of the situation, but the amount stipulated was roundly criticised. For perspective, Montenegro was fined 17,396 euros after their fans abused English players in March 2019. Arsenal former player, Nicklas Bendtner was meanwhile fined 80,000 euros in 2012 after showing off a Paddy Power logo while celebrating, as reported by the Daily Star.

The difference between the two fines and offences committed were miles apart.

Bigoted behaviour remains a very divisive issue in sports. There hasn't been much success so far, but it hasn't been for a lack of trying. Players have done everything they can, from creating awareness, to engaging the perpetrators one-on-one on social media, to standing up for themselves when the situation gets murky.

As Vinicius aptly points out, the system and authorities need to do much better.

"Instead of criticizing the racists, the President of La Liga appears on social media to attack me. I am not your friend to talk about racism. I want actions and punishments. Hashtags don't help anymore."

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As history shows, the story will likely cool down in a few days until the next incident, with nothing substantive being down to alleviate the pain of Vinicius and hundreds of others.

More needs to be done.

FIFA President supports Vinicius

Sports Brief earlier reported that FIFA President, Gianni Infantino was the latest to back the Real Madrid forward.

The Brazilian suffered racist chants from some Valencia supporters during a La Liga clash against Real Madrid on Sunday, with the referee temporarily halting the game.

Infantino has now condemned the racist abuse against Vini and called for FIFA’s three-step process to be implemented in subsequent scenarios.