Vinicius Jr, Lamine Yamal
Madrid: Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior praised Barcelona star Lamine Yamal for publicly condemning anti-Muslim chants in a recent match, saying players need to stick together in the fight against discrimination, the Associated Press reported.
Vinicius spoke on Monday, less than a week after Yamal criticised the chants by Spanish fans in Spain's friendly against Egypt last Tuesday. Yamal, who is Muslim, said the chants were disrespectful and intolerable.
Vinicius, a Brazil international, has often been subjected to racist taunts while playing in Europe and is vocal about the fight against racism. He said, "It's always complicated" to talk about the subject, but "these things happen a lot.
"Hopefully we can continue with this fight," he said. "It's important that Lamine speaks about it. It could help others. We are famous, we have money, we can balance these things better, but the poor people and the Blacks who are everywhere, they surely struggle more than we do. So we have to stick together, those who have a stronger voice, the players".
In a Champions League match last month in Lisbon, Vinicius accused Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni of calling him a monkey after the Brazil forward celebrated in front of the home fans when he scored for Madrid. Benfica fans insulted Vinicius from the stands.
"I'm not saying that Spain or Germany or Portugal are racist countries, but there are racists in these countries, and in Brazil and other countries as well," Vinicius said. "But if we keep fighting together, I think future players and people in general won't have to go through this again."
Vinicius spoke on the eve of the first leg between Madrid and Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.