Abuse hurled at Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior caused a storm – but what of the everyday reality of life for people of colour?
A little after 5pm on Tuesday, a young boy in a Real Madrid strip trotted on to a damp neighbourhood football pitch in the centre of the Spanish capital, oblivious to both the racism flung at the man whose name he wore on his back, and to the national and international debate it had generated. “We haven’t told him about the Vinícius thing yet,” said Mohamed’s mother, Milene Dos Santos, as she and her husband looked on from the sidelines. “If he asks, then we’ll tell him. He’s only seven, but he’ll need to be prepared for what’s to come.”
It appears the events of the past few days have been too much for many, far older, Spaniards to take in, too. The abuse hurled at Real Madrid’s Brazilian winger, Vinícius Júnior during a match against Valencia on Sunday has already resulted in three swift arrests. Four other people, meanwhile, have been arrested in connection with the dummy, dressed in the player’s shirt, that was hung from a bridge in the Spanish capital.
