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La Liga president Javier Tebas has apologized for his rant about Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior's racism complaints.
A racism row involving the Los Blancos attacker has swept La Liga with the Brazilian demanding more action from the Spanish league. The 22-year-old was racially abused during his side's 1-0 defeat to Valencia on May 21.
Despite the player's calls for more action, Tebas insisted that La Liga had been fighting racism for years. He disagreed with the Real Madrid frontman's claims that the league wasn't doing enough, tweeting:
"At (La Liga) we have been fighting racism for years. (Vinicius) is very unfortunate, unfair and it is not true to publish that (La Liga) does nothing against racism, find out more. We are at your disposal so that all together, we can go in the same direction."
This led to backlash regarding Tebas' comments with many outraged and asserting that the La Liga president had attacked the Real Madrid winger. He has now reflected on his statement and apologized, telling Reuters (via Sowentan LIVE):
“Well, it seems the result has not been very good, right? I mean, to all those who have understood that this was an error due to the form, due to the time ... I have to apologise."
Tebas understands how his words may have been interpreted, adding:
“I apologise to Vinicius and to anyone that understood that I was attacking Vinicius.”
La Liga have handed out a punishment to Valencia for the racist abuse the Brazilian endured at the Mestalla. Their south stand will be partially closed for five matches and they have been fined €45,000.
It is the 10th allegation of racism targeting Vinicius that La Liga have reported to authorities this season according to Tebas. The issue is heightening with Spanish football's reputation now on the line.
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti discusses the racism row involving Vinicius
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti is glad that the issue of racism is being talked about. The abuse that Vinicius suffered during the loss to Valencia has led to many high-profile football names demanding more action from the Spanish authorities.
The likes of Casemiro, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, and Ronaldo Nazario have all defended the Madrid forward and asked for action from La Liga. Ancelotti touched on this just days after the latest case of racism took place. The Los Blancos coach said (via Madrid Zone):
“We are just as worried about what happened as everyone else. This is a topic that gets talked about a lot and it's right to talk about it & it's a great opportunity to improve things quickly.”
The Brazilian was sent off in the 90+6th minute of the defeat at the Mestalla for an altercation with Valencia striker Hugo Doro. However, his red card was rescinded by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on Tuesday (May 24). However, the young attacker didn't feature in his side's 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday.
