At a time when racism has triggered urban riots in France, Brazil has introduced a new law to prevent this social menace. The football-crazy Latin American nation has named the law after Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira Júnior (commonly known as Vinícius Júnior), a professional footballer who plays as a winger for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team. As per the new law, sporting events shall be stopped or suspended in case of any racist conduct during an event.

Vinícius has been racially abused 10 times so far while playing for Real Madrid in Spanish domestic league. The last time he was racially abused was during a match against Valencia in May 2023. People stood by the Brazilian player at that time. That incident prompted Brazil to introduce the new law. The Brazilian media reported that local footballers welcomed the law.

The match at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia was stopped for several minutes after the incident. Vinícius himself pointed the finger at the spectator who racially abused him. The Government of Brazil introduced the Vinícius Junior Law in June 2022. The Government clearly mentioned in the Act what measures should be taken in order to prevent racist attacks and why people should be made aware of such incidents. The law also includes protocol on how to process complaints of racism and mandatory educational campaigns.

While speaking at an event in Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã Stadium, 22-year-old Vinícius stressed: “Today (Wednesday, July 5, 2023) is a very special day and I hope my family is very proud. I am very young and I did not expect that I would be receiving this tribute.“

Meanwhile, the Legislative Assembly and City Council of Rio honoured Vinícius with an award and also added his footprints to the Maracanã’s Walk of Fame beside those of Brazilian greats, such as Pele, Garrincha and Ronaldo. After receiving the award, Vinícius said: “Sometimes I wonder if I deserve so much. I did not expect so many awards and to receive all this affection at the Maracanã, where I attended and played so many Flamengo matches.“

For his part, Rio de Janeiro’s Secretary for Sports Rafael Picciani stated that it was an honour to pay tribute to “an idol of Brazilian football, born and raised in Rio de Janeiro“. “In addition to all his football career achievements, Vinícius has also become a symbol of the fight against racism,” he added.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das