Follow-up – WAA
Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior has ignored a request from Madrid Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida.
Almeida asked Vinicius to retract his statements against Spain, saying: “I hope he retracts these statements immediately. We are all aware that there are racist incidents in society, and we must work hard to eliminate them, but it is very unfair to say about Spain, and especially Madrid, that we are a racist society.”
According to the Spanish program “El Chiringuito”, Vinicius refused to issue any clarifications regarding the interview he conducted, during which he attacked Spain.
The 2030 World Cup will be held with a joint bid from Morocco, Spain and Portugal.
“If racism is not eliminated in Spain before 2030, the World Cup should be moved somewhere else. We have plenty of time for change. I hope Spain can understand how serious it is to insult someone because of the colour of their skin,” Vinicius said in a recent interview.
“If things don’t change in 2030, I think we have to change where the World Cup is held, because if a player doesn’t feel comfortable and safe playing in a country where he can suffer from racism, it becomes very complicated,” he added.