Spanish football chief admits racism ‘problem’ after Vinícius Júnior abuse

The head of Spain’s national football federation has said the country has a problem with racism, as Brazilian politicians, sports stars and celebrities staged a show of support for Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior, who had abuse hurled at him during a match on Sunday.

Luis Rubiales, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, called for zero tolerance of racism in stadiums after abuse was directed at the 22-year-old Brazilian forward during a match at Valencia. “We have a problem in our country: of behaviour and racism,” Rubiales said on Monday.

Speaking after Sunday’s game, Real Madrid’s Italian manager, Carlo Ancelotti, said the racist abuse – which prompted his player to ask to be taken off the pitch after repeatedly being called a “monkey” – highlighted how “something bad is happening in this league”.

Real Madrid described the abuse as “a direct attack” on democracy and a “hate crime”, and announced it had lodged a complaint with prosecutors.

Vinícius himself claimed Spain was now known “as a country of racists” in Brazil, where the latest in a series of attacks on him caused outrage.

Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, called on Fifa and La Liga to take “serious measures” after Sunday’s scenes at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium. “We cannot allow fascism and racism to seize control of football stadiums,” Lula told reporters at the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

Cabinet members, including the justice minister, Flávio Dino, also demanded action from Spanish authorities. “This is deplorable, unacceptable and there must be consequences,” Dino tweeted.

Lula’s human rights minister, Silvio Almeida, said football, “especially in Europe, has become a space where racial hatred can be freely expressed”.

“If one of the