LaLiga bigwig launches racist tirade against Vinicius Jr

Tom Weber

• Updated: 23 Sept 2024 20:38 BST
• 4 min read

Former Valencia president Paco Roig has come out with some mind-boggling statements on Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jr.

The Los Blancos star is always in the headlines. The winger has become one of the faces of football's fight against racism as he has himself regularly been subjected to offensive chanting by supporters.

This year's Ballon d'Or favourite has been in absolutely stunning form for Real Madrid for some time now, but some of his antics on the pitch have not been well received, with some using them as an excuse to overstep several boundaries.

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LaLiga and Spanish authorities have tried to clamp down on the racist abuse but with little success to speak of. Assertions that Spain is 'not a racist country' can hardly be taken seriously when it is such a regular occurrence at football games.

Indeed, it seems to be a widespread problem in some quarters, with former Valencia president Paco Roig now becoming one of the most high-profile figures to make discriminatory statements towards Vinicius.

Ex-LaLiga boss launches racist tirade

Speaking to Relevo, the former Valencia bigwig launched into a bizarre tirade against the Brazilian in a hamfisted attempt to defend the supporters of his former club, who have been repeat offenders when it comes to abusing the attacker.

In fact, three Valencia fans were given prison sentences in the summer after being found guilty of discriminating against Vinicius. Roig, however, pins the blame solely at the feet of the player.

“Before there were no such problems or I didn’t notice them," he claimed. "Romario was half black and he didn’t have any problems. I call Madrid the Real Immigrant. If Madrid has eight blacks, two whites and a Spaniard, Carvajal, and this Vinícius comes out here, who the other one came to get out… Does he know what he did here?

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“He climbed up on the Mestalla fence and said ‘you called me a son of a bitch’. I was at Mestalla that day with my grandson and my son. And I said to my grandson, ‘Alfonsito, what are they saying?’ And he answers: ‘they say you’re stupid.’ I thought they were calling him a monkey. But no.

"And I say to my son Alfonso, 40 years old, the boy’s father, ‘what are they saying?’ And the same. ‘Stupid.’ Well, the guy goes out, stands up and starts touching himself there and saying ‘you’re in the Second Division’. And they take away his red card, but what is this? They throw two or three bans at us, that the fans couldn’t get in the stands for two or three games, and they forgive him for this one.

“He may be a great player, which I think he is, but he’s a… He’s a piece of shit as a person. He’s always going to the referee. I’ve been to South America 20 or 30 times and nothing has ever happened to me. I go to South America with humility and I speak with affection. I can’t go there saying that I’m the conqueror. Who are you?”