According to president Gianni Infantino, a special FIFA anti-racism committee comprised of players will be led by Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr. and will recommend harsher sanctions for discriminatory behavior in sports.
In May, when Madrid played Valencia, Brazilian forward Vinicius was subjected to racial taunts from the crowd. This was the 22-year-old’s tenth such incident that LaLiga has referred to prosecutors this year.
In addition to enforcing disciplinary and competition sanctions, Infantino told Reuters that FIFA would also take legal action against abusers in nations where racism occurs in football games. “Racist football will no longer be played. When it occurs, the games need to be halted right away. In an effort to combat racism, the Brazilian FA (CBF) has launched a campaign. On Thursday, Infantino met with Vinicius and the Brazil national team before their upcoming match against Guinea in Barcelona.
“I asked Vinicius to lead this group of players that will present stricter punishments against racism that will later be implemented by all football authorities around the world.
“We will implement very blunt and strong punishments to end once and for all with the problem of racism in football. We can’t tolerate racism anymore. As president of FIFA, I feel I needed to talk personally with Vinicius about it.”
The senior football authorities in Spain, LaLiga and the Spanish FA (RFEF), are under pressure to do more to fight racism after Vinicius got support from all over the world in response to the abuse he endured in Valencia.
However, Infantino emphasized that action should be taken on a worldwide scale to end discrimination in football and that local prosecutors and political authorities in every nation must likewise combat racism with greater vigor.
