BARCELONA, Spain: Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior called out the haters of his goal celebrations as racist and insisted he will keep on dancing.
Spanish sports talk shows have been discussing the appropriateness of his celebrations, and a commentator on television said he should stop “doing the monkey.”
Real Madrid criticized the comment on Friday, and Vinicius issued a video statement on Saturday in which the Brazilian eloquently explained that dancing forms part of his cultural expression, and cited other soccer players, both Black and white, who also have danced after scoring.
“Repeat after me, racist: I am not going to stop dancing,” Vinícius said.
“I was victim of xenophobia and racism in a single declaration, but none of this began yesterday,” Vinícius said over freeze frames of social media posts using racist language to insult him.
The controversy also comes in the build up to Sunday’s always hotly contested Spanish capital derby in which Real Madrid visit Atlético Madrid. This week, Atlético captain Koke Resurrección, when asked what would happen if Vinícius danced after scoring, responded “There will be trouble.”
Koke appeared to make the comment in jest, but it has been widely commented on. Brazil star Neymar chimed in on social media by tweeting, “Dance Vini Jr.”
In his video, Vinícius listed players, including Atlético’s Antoine Griezmann, who is white, over images of them dancing to celebrate goals.
“For weeks my dancing has been criminalized, dances that are not mine, but rather of Ronaldinho, Neymar, Paquetá, Pogba, Matheus Cunha, Griezmann and João Félix,” he said. “They are dances of Brazilian artists, of Latino singers and reggaeton artists, and Black Americans. They are dances to celebrate the cultural diversity of the world. Accept them. Respect them. I won’t stop.”
The 22-year-old Vinícius emerged as one of the Spanish league’s best players last year, becoming a perfect attack partner for Karim Benzema. He helped Madrid win the Spanish league and the European Cup, including scoring the goal to beat Liverpool 1-0 in the Champions League final.
He has scored five times already this season.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said he was sure his player was focused on playing, despite the noise.
“The player’s response was very good. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with him,” Ancelotti said. “He’s playing with the joy and quality that he possesses. I don’t give him any advice because I’m not his dad or his brother. I’m his coach.”
Vinícius on dancing after goals: ‘I am not going to stop’
https://arab.news/8sjr9
Vinícius on dancing after goals: ‘I am not going to stop’
- Spanish sports talk shows have been discussing the appropriateness of his celebrations
- Vinicius issued a video statement on Saturday in which the Brazilian eloquently explained that dancing forms part of his cultural expression
Forest, Celtic into Europa League play-offs as Villa fight back
- Villa looked to be sliding to just a second defeat in Europe this campaign when Salzburg surged 2-0 ahead in Birmingham through goals from Karim Konate and Moussa Yeo
PARIS, France: Nottingham Forest will go into the Europa League play-off round after a 4-0 win over Ferencvaros on Thursday, while Celtic secured their place in the knockout phase with victory over Utrecht.
Aston Villa finished second in the league phase after recovering from two goals down to beat Red Bull Salzburg 3-2 with their spot in the last 16 already assured.
Forest stood an outside chance of climbing into the top eight going into the final round of matches but needed to beat Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros and rely on other results going their way.
Sean Dyche’s side did their bit as Igor Jesus struck twice for Forest after Ferencvaros defender Bence Otvos scored an own goal. James McAtee tucked away a late penalty, but the win was only enough for the Premier League club to finish 13th overall.
“It has not been easy through various games, the schedule, planning, traveling and all that sort of stuff. To come out of a disappointing one in Braga (1-0 loss last week) and then to deliver that I am very pleased,” Dyche told TNT Sports.
Twice former European champions Forest will learn their play-off fate on Friday. They will face Fenerbahce or Panathinaikos over two legs next month, while Stuttgart or Ferencvaros await Celtic, who overcame lowly Utrecht 4-2 after scoring three times in the first 19 minutes in Glasgow.
Benjamin Nygren put Celtic ahead before an own goal from Utrecht captain Nick Viergever. Arne Engels converted a penalty with Celtic cruising, but Utrecht pulled it back to within one until Auston Trusty’s header gave the hosts some more breathing space.
Teen wins it for Villa
Villa looked to be sliding to just a second defeat in Europe this campaign when Salzburg surged 2-0 ahead in Birmingham through goals from Karim Konate and Moussa Yeo.
Morgan Rogers reduced the deficit and Tyrone Mings headed Villa level, with 19-year-old Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba netting his first senior goal to complete the turnaround for Unai Emery’s men.
“It’s a proud moment for me on my European debut,” Jimoh-Aloba told TNT Sports. “It’s just really nice to make my family proud and stuff because of all the hard work. I’ve had a lot of lows this season and a lot of highs, but this is top.”
Villa, who sit third in the Premier League, will get a welcome break before the last 16 — where they could meet Lille, PAOK, Red Star Belgrade or Celta Vigo.
Emery has won the Europa League a record four times as a manager and Rogers believes that is a considerable advantage for Villa.
“He knows how to get his way through a competition, especially this one. To have him in our corner guiding us through it is going to be massive,” said Rogers.
Lyon topped the table with seven wins from eight after completing the league phase with a 4-2 victory over PAOK. A minute’s silence was observed before kick-off in memory of the seven Greek fans killed in a minibus accident in Romania on Tuesday.
Midtjylland, Real Betis, Porto, Braga, Freiburg and Roma all finished in the top eight to ensure direct qualification for the last 16.
Rangers concluded a miserable European campaign with a 3-1 loss at Porto, their sixth defeat in eight games in the competition.
