Ben Pawlowski
LA Liga president Javier Tebas has claimed that Spain is less racist than ‘any other country’, despite a rise in racist abuse inside football grounds.
“If we compare ourselves with other countries’ behaviour, I think we have a lot less racism than in any other country”, insisted Tebas, 61, in an interview with POLITICO.
Tebas’ claim comes in spite of a recent increase in racist abuse at football matches, particularly towards Vinicius Jr, Real Madrid’s star Brazilian forward who has been targeted by fans throughout Spain.
In May 2023, four men were arrested in Madrid after an effigy of Vinicius, who is Black, was hung from a bridge, whilst he was also subject to racist abuse from Valencia supporters during a match that same month.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez even intervened, demanding action after Atletico Madrid supporters aimed ‘monkey’ chants at the player in a separate incident
Tebas, who voted for far-right Vox in 2019 and was a member of the fascist Fuerza Nueva in the 1980s, sought to downplay recent racist incidents, saying “they don’t happen, you know, all the time or a lot, and they are mainly focused on Vinicius”.
Tebas was involved in a social media spat with Vinicius after the Brazilian said La Liga ‘belongs to racists’ and ‘in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists’.
The former lawyer said it was ‘very unfair’ to call Spain or its premier footballing competition racist, before criticising Vinicius for not ‘informing himself properly’.
Earlier this month, Tebas defended Mason Greenwood’s controversial past, claiming he ‘was not found guilty so I do not care’.
The Manchester United forward, currently on loan at Getafe, was charged with attempted rape, coercion and assault in 2022 before the case was dropped after key witnesses pulled out.
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