Players and officials call for racism to be tackled as LaLiga action resumes

LaLiga players and officials called for racism to be tackled in Spain as the competition resumed in the wake of the latest Vinicius Junior incident.

Before Tuesday night’s game between Celta Vigo and Girona, players from both sides, as well as the match officials, stood behind a banner which read “Racism, out of football”.

LaLiga shared the pre-match clip on its official Twitter account with the hashtag #JUNTOSContraElRacismo (#TOGETHERagainstRacism).

#JUNTOSContraElRacismo pic.twitter.com/KIW5XIp8r7

— LaLiga (@LaLiga) May 23, 2023

The footage also showed a supporter holding up a placard with ‘No Al Racismo’ (No to Racism) written on it.

Play on the field resumed after a turbulent weekend when Real Madrid forward Vinicius was allegedly subjected to racist chants during Sunday’s game at Valencia and later claimed it was an example of “continuous episodes spread across several cities in Spain”.

LaLiga will request greater jurisdiction to punish clubs whose fans are guilty of racist abuse after feeling “powerless” at the lack of current sanctions in the wake of the latest Vinicius incident.

According to the country’s law, LaLiga can currently only identify and report incidents, and punishment is rarely handed out.