Vinicius broke down this Monday in public in the press room of the sports city of Real Madrid, his club, on an afternoon in which he appeared as a visitor, with Brazil. He talked about racism, the attacks he has suffered in Spain, and the sadness that is taking over him: “Playing football is important, but fighting against racism is very important,” he said. “Let black people have a normal life, like everyone else. I want to continue fighting for this. If it weren’t for this, I would have given up.” And there he stopped. He put his hand to his face, his eyes reddened and tears came to his eyes. He paused for several seconds as he tried to catch his breath. He tried to continue talking, but his breath was short.
It was the most intense moment of a sincere appearance in which the Brazilian footballer opened up about what the racist attacks he suffers in the stadiums of Spain mean: “At 23 years old, I have to teach what racism is, and that it really affects me.” “My family gets sad at home,” he said. “Since I reported the first time, things have increased, because since they are not punished, they know that they can do anything and that all the words they say about the color of my skin can affect me on the field,” he lamented, and insisted on several occasions: “I just want to play football.”
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