LaLiga president Tebas would support Vinicius if he walks off field

LaLiga president Javier Tebas continued to make bold claims as he deals with rampant racism in the Spanish top flight. Tebas and Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior battled on Twitter. That came after the Brazilian was on the receiving end of heavy racist abuse in Real Madrid’s game against Valencia.

Now, Tebas is stating that he and LaLiga could eradicate racism in six months. The caveat is that he and the league do not have the power to do so. At a news conference on Thursday, he said the league is taking the legal route. If all comes to fruition, racism will be out of the league in half a year.

“What we want is the power to do more things. With the power we are convinced within months this would be solved,” Tebas told the media. Then, he compared the issues of racism or homophobia to the economic distress of clubs.

“We have been able to have economic control to stop our clubs going bankrupt so if we are given the competencies we can put an end to this because it is easier to stop than financial control.”

LaLiga plans to send a group to the government and Spanish political parties to challenge current laws to make it easier to fight racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of discrimination.

Tebas issuing ‘support’ of Vinicius in LaLiga fight

In the meantime, with just two games remaining in the league, Tebas said the Brazilian would have the full backing of the league if he decides to abandon a game due to racism. Despite this support, Tebas is yet to reach out directly to Vinicius outside of that social media back-and-forth. However, the LaLiga President has talked to sponsors to reassure them that this is an isolated incident.

Of course, it is not an isolated incident. Since December 2020, LaLiga reported nine racist incidents involving just Vinicius. Officials resolved four of those nine. Investigations found two did not have racism. From there, the club has the authority to issue sanctions. Yet, in this most recent Valencia case, the Spanish Football Federation ordered a partial stadium ban and a $45,000 fine for the club.

Again, that was the Spanish Football Federation, not LaLiga, even though this is an issue specific to the league. Much of Tebas’s actions have seemed to backtrack on his initial outburst soon after the incident itself.

PHOTO: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire