Real Madrid Superstar Vinicius Junior made use of his time while under injury as he traveled to London to attend Pop star Beyonce concert, and later posed with the Grammys winner’s husband, music mogul Jay-Z at the Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium.
Vinicius Junior has been involved in a vicious racism row in Spain, and has not featured in Real Madrid’s last two games due to injury, following a disgusting incident when Los Blancos travelled to Valencia.
Insults aimed at the Real Madrid soccer player Vinicius Jr have triggered a fierce debate about racism in sport and whether Spanish society has a problem with the issue.
Since the incident, Spanish police have arrested several people in connection with the racist abuse directed at the star who confronted fans of Valencia football club in the Mestalla stadium who he accused of directing monkey chants at him.
After the match, the Brazilian international said the Spanish football league “belongs to racists”. In the wake of the incident, the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, warned against allowing “fascism and racism” to dominate football stadiums and his government issued a statement saying it “deeply regrets” the lack of action by Spanish authorities to fight the problem.
As the lights illuminating the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro were dimmed as a show of solidarity with the player on Monday, the issue has transcended the borders of Spain and of sport.
Spain’s left-wing government and its sports institutions have been unanimous in condemning racism in football. However, claims that Sunday’s incident reflected a broader malaise have proved to be more contentious.
It remains to be seen if Vinicius will be available for Madrid’s final game of the season as they look to nail down second place in La Liga.