Vinicius Junior voiced his displeasure with what he saw to be a discriminatory gesture made by stadium security against a member of his crew before to the international friendly between Brazil and Guinea in Barcelona on Sunday.
The Brazil national team won 4-1 in the stadium of Espanyol on Saturday night while wearing black jerseys as a form of protest against racial discrimination. This came after Real Madrid forward Vinicius was racially assaulted by Valencia supporters in May, which caused widespread anger throughout the world. It was one of several instances in which Vinicius was subjected to racial insults when he was in Spain.
“While I was playing in the already historic black shirt and getting emotional, my friend was humiliated and mocked at the entrance to the stadium,” Vinicius said on Twitter early on Sunday morning.
“The treatment was disheartening… in the interest of making everything public, I demand to know from those responsible: where is the footage from the security cameras?”
Vinicius’ friend and adviser Felipe Silveira, 27, claims that he was verbally insulted by a security officer when the man was being searched at the entry to the stadium.
According to an excerpt from the complaint that was submitted by the player’s buddy and published on the Brazilian news website Globo Esporte, he is accused of stating, “Hands up, this is my gun for you,” while bringing a banana out of his pocket. This information comes from the complaint that was filed.
According to the Brazilian website, Silveira and three other members of Vinicius’ crew filed a complaint and phoned the police when they saw what was happening.
SporTV, a broadcaster in Brazil, aired footage showing angry interactions between the player’s friends and staff members at the stadium.
According to reports from Brazilian media, both the security guard and the security business disputed the charges.
The Brazilian football federation (CBF) said that they had taken action as soon as they were made aware of the complaint. They also issued an appeal to the police and the match organizers to “give their full support and protection to yet another victim of racism, a crime that must be fought vehemently and relentlessly.”
“Today, once again, another criminal has been publicly exposed,” said Ednaldo Rodrigues, president of the CBF. “The public now knows who this person is.”
During the previous two seasons, Vinicius, who is now 22 years old, has been the target of racial insults on several occasions.
Due to the fact that the friendly was being played on Spanish land, Brazil came to the conclusion that it was an excellent chance to get their revenge.
For the first half of the game, Brazil took a forceful stance against racism by donning an all-black strip instead of their traditional yellow and green jerseys. This was done as a statement against the country’s long history of racism.
The Brazilian Football Confederation was the organization that was the driving force behind the gesture, which was backed with the motto “Com racismo nao tem jogo” (With racism, there is no game).
Vinicius himself, who was playing in Brazil’s customary colors at this point, converted a penalty kick in the 88th minute to get his name on the scoresheet. He was wearing the number 10 jersey.
Following the widespread indignation that was caused by the treatment of Vinicius, the Spanish and Brazilian football federations have announced their intention to host a friendly match at the Santiago Bernabeu in the month of March 2024 in order to fight racism.
Vinicius will play a “prominent role” in the anti-racism taskforce that will be created as part of FIFA’s stated intentions to form the group. FIFA is the governing body of international football.