“Surely Vinicius is more right than we think,” says Luis Rubiales. A few words that show the concern of the president of the Spanish Federation (RFEF) about a deeper problem than it sometimes seems. “We have a problem. The first thing is to recognize that we have a problem in our country of behavior, education, racism. As long as there is a single undesirable or a group of undesirables who insults by sexual condition, by skin color, by creed, we have a serious problem that also stains an entire team, an entire fan base, an entire club, an entire country. And we are a welcoming country, which receives millions of visitors every year and soccer also receives colleagues from all over the world, “he said in an appearance without questions at the Ciudad del Fútbol de Las Rozas.
«Vinicius Jr. and any female or male footballer who receives an insult due to racism, sexual orientation, creed has my support and has the support of the RFEF. We are here to help and to ask them to help us improve. There are those who talk about certain behaviors of Vinicius but we cannot compare a problem that is a grain of sand with a problem that is a desert, “adds Rubiales.
The president of the Federation sides with Vinicius and sends a message to the president of the Brazilian Confederation. «I want to send a message to the president of the Brazilian Confederation, my dear Ednaldo. There will be few countries in the world that admire and respect Brazilian football like Spain. We have had thousands of Brazilians in all categories. And not only those who come from Brazil, everyone should be welcome. We must ensure that they live together in peace and that this sport is the most beautiful in the world. I want to ask the president of the CBF to sit down and see what the RFEF does about these situations. I would be delighted to welcome you here with open arms», he affirms.
And take advantage, by the way, to launch an attack on the president of LaLiga. Xavier Thebes. «I want to ask you to ignore the irresponsible behavior of the president of the League who enters social networks to discuss with a footballer who hours before has received serious insults. Managers are not here to enter social networks, we are there to solve problems and this footballer was very seriously attacked,” he says.
Rubiales regrets that the previous Sports Law did not give the RFEF powers to sanction and ensures that the Competition Committee, “which is independent”, will sanction the events at Mestalla accordingly. “The objective that we have set for ourselves is that Vinicius and the rest of the footballers who suffer from this problem say that it is no longer a problem and for that we are going to work tirelessly,” he assures.
