Deputy spokesperson of Barcelona board Mikel Camps has come under scanner for claiming that Vinicius Junior was deserving of a slap for his on-field actions. Camps made the statement after the Real Madrid star was racially abused by Sevilla fans during last week’s La Liga match.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, Camps posted his opinion, igniting controversy which forced him to delete the post later.
“It’s not racism, he deserves a slap for being a clown. What do these unnecessary and meaningless stepovers represent in the centre of the field?,” said Camps as Real Madrid were playing Braga in the Champions League.
Reacting to Camp’s post, Real Madrid forward Rodrygo said: “I don’t know if I can speak, they always encourage us not to speak, but it’s pathetic. There’s not much to say, very ugly.”
Also read | Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr slams La Liga after racial abuse, Brazil President calls for end of racism
Racist Sevilla supporters
It was last week that at least two Sevilla supporters were caught on camera making monkey gestures towards Vinicus during the match.
“The face of today’s racist is plastered on websites as on many other occasions. I hope the Spanish authorities do their part and change the legislation once and for all. These people must be criminally punished too,” said Vini Jr. in a post on X.
The Brazilian forward said punishing the racists would be the first step in “preparing for the 2030 World Cup” whilst adding that it was the 19th time that such an incident had transpired with him.
“Sorry to seem repetitive, but this is isolated episode number 19. And counting.”
After the culmination of the match, Sevilla issued a statement saying “a member of the public was identified, ejected from the stadium and handed over to legal authorities”.
“Furthermore, the internal disciplinary regulations will be strictly applied to him and he will be expelled as a member imminently,” the club added.
Earlier this year, after Vinicius Jr. was racially abused by Valencia fans, he wrote a lengthy post and called out the Spanish league saying “racism is normal in La Liga”.
(With inputs from agencies)
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