Pepe Reina wants Vinicius Jr. to ‘mature’ in behavior and have ‘more respect’ for rivals after racial abuse incident
The Villarreal goalkeeper condemns racism but claims Spain is not a racist country.
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Veteran goalkeeper Pepe Reina urges Vinicius Jr to be more mature during matches. (credit: Twitter)
Pepe Reina has urged condemnation of those who racially abused Vinicius Jr during Real Madrid’s match against Valencia, but urged the Brazilian to “be more mature in his behavior”. The weekend match at the Mestalla was paused after the Madrid star was subjected to abuse from sections of the home crowd, with a tannoy announcement warning fans over their behavior.
In the days since, though, Vinicius has been vocal in his response and earned the support of manager Carlo Ancelotti and a number of players from his own and other clubs. “First and foremost, any racist behavior must be stopped,” Reina said. “Then, I do not believe that there is racism in all the stadiums in Spain or that an entire stadium is racist.
“Those four, eight or thousand who called Vinicius a ‘monkey’ must be condemned,” he added while calling for a ban for the offenders and saying. “It’s sad that this happens.” However, the former Liverpool goalkeeper also made comments about supposed provocation on the part of Vinicius. Reina’s comments come just three months after current Reds manager Jurgen Klopp hit out at suggestions the Real Madrid man brought abused himself with provocative behavior.
“He, Vinicius, is becoming one of the best in the world,” Reina continued. “But I think he must also mature in behavior, in having more respect for his rivals, in understanding some unwritten football values or codes. “That would improve his performance. It can’t be that every game away from home is a war for him.” Reina’s comments are in stark contrast to the solidarity shown by some other players in Spain’s top flight.
LaLiga president Javier Tebas issues apology to Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr after comments amid racism storm
LaLiga president Javier Tebas has apologized for suggesting Vinicius Junior was being “manipulated” when the Real Madrid winger called out racism he has suffered in Spain. The Brazil international took to social media to speak out after being abused in Sunday’s game at Valencia, saying it was a problem he had endured throughout the league.
The La Liga boss has now said sorry. “I think that the message, and the intention I had, was not understood by a significant number of people, especially in Brazil,” he told. “I did not want to attack Vinicius, but if most people understood it that way, I need to apologize. It was not my intention, I expressed myself badly, at a bad time. But I had no intention of attacking Vinicius, but rather clarifying a situation, because Vinicius had recorded a video supporting LaLiga’s actions.”
“If I hurt someone, they thought I was racist, it’s far from reality. I feel sorry for what happened, and that’s why we denounced it. We didn’t just denounce it, we took special actions at his games. We spoke to the clubs so that they could provide more security, and identify fans. LaLiga takes care of Vinicius. And, if they misunderstood what happened I have to apologize.”
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MUHAMMAD DHULKIFL
(169 Articles Published)