Organizations call for the European Union to take concrete action to defeat racism

The request was made by 160 organizations following Vinícius Júnior, who plays for Real Madrid, becoming the latest victim of discrimination

Vinícius Júnior sofre caso de racismo em jogo pelo campeonato espanhol. Foto: Thomas Coex/ AFP

On Thursday [25] civil society organizations delivered a letter to the Delegation of the European Union [EU] in Brazil following a further episode of racism against the player Vinícius Júnior, who plays for the Spanish team Real Madrid. The country is a member of the EU. More than 160 organizations, among them Conectas, are demanding measures to combat racism, not only in football, but across the whole of society, particularly in the EU member states. 

The organizations highlight that as the country is a member of the EU, the union is expected to act firmly to call for accountability in the face of this recent case of racism in the sport, taking into account regional human rights norms to tackle all forms of discrimination.

“Our concerns would be met by concrete forceful actions to address not only the incident on 21 May during La Liga and all those involved but also for football to be taken up as public policy with the construction and concrete deployment of actions focused on tackling racism”. It says in the letter.