2030 World Cup demand issued by Vinicius Junior as call for action in Spanish football’s racism problem

In the last couple of years, Vinicius Junior has been targeted with racist abuse on several occasions. The Real Madrid superstar has demanded action on the back of these, and while harsher punishments have started to be rolled out, it is not enough for him.

Vinicius recently spoke to CNN (via Marca) on the issue of racism in Spanish football, and he called on the Spanish Football Federation to protect him and other victims.

“If the situation with racism in Spain does not improve before 2030, the World Cup would have to be moved to another location.

“Until 2030, we have a very large margin for change. I hope that Spain can evolve and understand how serious it is to insult a person because of the colour of their skin, because if in 2030 things haven’t changed, I think we have to change the venue of the World Cup, because if a player doesn’t feel comfortable or safe playing in a country where he can suffer racism, then it becomes very complicated.”

Vinicius has regularly offered himself to help fight this battle against racism, and he did so again during the interview with CNN.

“I want to do everything possible for things to change, because there are many people in Spain, the majority, who are not racist. It is a small group that ends up affecting the image of a country in which it is very good to live.

“I love playing for Real Madrid. I love Spain, it has the best conditions for me to live here with my family. We hope that things can improve – they have already – but they can improve much more, and by 2030, the cases of racists and racism can and must decrease.”