"THE DECISION IS A BEGINNING, A PATH", SAYS CBF PRESIDENT ON CONDEMNATION OF VINÍCIUS JÚNIOR'S ASSAULTS

The president of the CBF, Ednaldo Rodrigues, said this Monday (10) that the conviction of three Valencia fans by the Spanish Court for insults against Vinicius Junior shows that another step has been taken in the fight against racism .

This was the first conviction for racist acts in Spanish criminal courts. Furthermore, fans are also banned from attending any football stadium in Spain for two years.

"The decision is a beginning, a path, and shows the importance of pressure from society for the authorities to really get involved in this fight against racism. It was a punishment that I interpret as still mild, but the steps are being taken step by step", said the president of the CBF, who is with the Brazilian team in the United States.

"Racism will not disappear overnight. A decision of this magnitude will affect us. gives us more strength to continue the fight. From now on, racists need to at least be afraid of committing a terrible crime like this. The CBF was the first national entity to include penalties for sportspeople for racism and we will not stop. racism knows the extent of the pain", added Ednaldo Rodrigues.

The first black and northeastern person to hold the position, the president of the CBF is also a member of the Council of FIFA and Conmebol. Upon taking office at FIFA last year, he said that the fight against racism in football on the planet would be one of his priorities.

In May, FIFA announced a global plan against racism. The world entity adopted sports punishment for cases of prejudice in its 211 member countries. Last year, the CBF also contacted the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, La Liga, the Royal Spanish Federation and the Spanish government demanding punishment for the Brazilian player's attackers.

Shirt 7 of the Brazilian team positioned itself in the X, reinforcing that it will not lower its head and will continue to fight against racism. He also said that he is not a "victim of racism", but rather "a tormentor of racists".

Real Madrid communicated the decision of the Spanish Court. See the note issued by the club:

Real Madrid CF announces that the Court of Instruction No. 10 of Valencia issued today, Monday, June 10, 2024, a conviction in accordance with with the three young people accused of insulting, with racist shouts and gestures, our player Vinicius Junior in a La Liga match, held on May 21, 2023 at the Mestalla stadium between Valencia CF and Real Madrid CF.

The three defendants were found guilty of a crime against the moral integrity of Vinicius Junior, aggravated by having acted with racist motivations, and each of them was sentenced to eight months in prison and banned from accessing football stadiums for a period two years.

The three accused assumed their criminal responsibility and made public a letter of apology addressed to our player Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid CF and other people who felt offended by their behavior. In addition to demonstrating their repentance, the three accused in their letter to fans ask that all traces of racism and intolerance be banned from competitions.

This is the first conviction for acts of this nature handed down by criminal courts .

Real Madrid, which joined the private prosecution with Vinicius Junior in this process, will continue to work to protect the values ​​of our club and eradicate any racist behavior in the world of football and sport.

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