The President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) Luis Rubiales has admitted that he did not understand why Vinicius Junior’s red card was rescinded by the Competition Committee. He also defended Spain amidst some of the bad press he has received.
On Sunday Vinicius Junior was dismissed for catching Hugo Duro in the face, while the Valencia striker went unpunished for his headlock on the Brazilian. On Wednesday it was announced that Vinicius would not face a suspension for his red card, after it was concluded that the referee was not given sufficient information by the VAR room to make a decision on the matter.
In terms of the racism that Vinicius has faced, it quickly turned into an international issue, after the Real Madrid star said that Spain was a racist country. Something Rubiales disputes.
“There is a problem of education and behaviour. This affects society and also those who go to football not to encourage but to insult. Violence is intolerable and racism is a type of violence. I already said that this is bad for a team, a city and a country and it’s something very unfair, but we can’t allow an entire society to be unfairly singled out.”
Rubiales also continued on to defend Spain and Spanish society to Cadena Cope.
“Spain is a welcoming country, world-class in terms of freedoms and rights. And also in terms of coexistence, except for episodes that unfortunately occur all over the world, also here. Spain is a destination for many, for its unquestionable quality of life, but also for the quality and treatment of our people, and, probably, one of the the most inclusive countries in the world and where the best quality of life is ours.”
Returning to the topic of the red card itself, Rubiales admitted he was surprised.
“Resolutions have often come out of this and other committees with which I have fully or partially agreed. Other times, no, and, the truth is, this has surprised me a lot. The more I read, I did not understand some of the things that were decided, but they must be followed and in the resolution itself, the argument is established, with which you can be in agreement or not.”
Rubiales has come under fire from Real Madrid in recent days, who say that his lack of action has been a contributing factor to the abuse that Vinicius has received. There is a good case to be made that all of the relevant authorities have been resting on their laurels to a certain extent, hence why it has become such a persistent problem.
Image via EPA-EFE/RODRIGO JIMENEZ
And that’s very true spain is racist country… How many time has vini jr been targeted since he come to spain? Think the RFEF president is a racist too. They have act now coz the world has voiced out, that’s very shameful. He is much concerned with vinis red card been rescinded, why not saying what hugo did to vini? Had it been vini is a spaniard the president couldn’t have say anything about the red card being rescinded… Shameful FA and country