STATS Perform/dpa
Berlin
Pelé has joined Neymar in offering his support to Vinicius Junior, who was the subject of a comment with apparent racist undertones from a Spanish football agent.
Pedro Bravo, a chief agent in Spain, appeared on El Chiringuito TV show this week, and said Real Madrid forward Vinicius had to stop dancing when he celebrated a goal.
Bravo said: “You have to respect your opponents. When you score a goal, if you want to dance Samba, you should go to [the] Sambadrome in Brazil. You have to respect your mates and stop playing the monkey.” This comment has led to outrage from Vinicius’ international team-mate Bruno Guimaraes, with the Newcastle United midfielder calling for Bravo to be “jailed”.
Guimaraes tweeted on Friday: “This MORON needs to get out of there already arrested! There is no excuse! If the guy says that on live TV, imagine what he doesn’t say when he’s not. Incomprehensible if this guy is not jailed.”
Neymar subsequently tagged Vinicius in his Instagram story, along with a photo of the Madrid star celebration and a caption that read: “Dribble, dance and be you! Happy just the way you are. Go for it my boy, next goal we dance!” Vinicius replied with a photo of him dancing alongside Neymar and Guimaraes while playing for Brazil.
Pelé then joined Neymar in offering support, with the legendary striker writing on Instagram: “Football is joy. It’s a dance. It’s more than that. It’s a real party.
“Although, unfortunately, racism still exists, we will not allow that to stop us from continuing to smile. And we will continue to fight racism every day in this way: fighting for our right to be happy and respected.”
‘I will not stop dancing,’ says Vinicius Jr
Vinicius Junior insisted he “will not stop dancing”.
Vinicius in a video posted to his Instagram: “As long as the colour of the skin is more important than the brightness of the eyes, there will be war.
“They say that happiness bothers. The happiness of a victorious black Brazilian in Europe bothers much more. But my desire to win, my smile and the sparkle in my eyes are much bigger than that.
“I was a victim of xenophobia and racism in a single statement. They are dances to celebrate the cultural diversity of the world. Accept it, respect it. I’m not going to stop.
“I always try to be a professional and an exemplary citizen. But that doesn’t click, it’s not trending on the internet, nor does it motivate cowards to talk aggressively about people they don’t even know.
“The script always ends with an apology and ‘I’ve been misunderstood.’ But I repeat it for you, racist: I will not stop dancing. Whether at the Sambadrome, at the Bernabeu or wherever.”
