Javier Tebas wants LaLiga to have power to eradicate racism in Spanish football

LaLiga president Javier Tebas claims that with the right legal framework, he can eliminate racism in Spanish football within six months.

The problem has been around for some time but made headlines on Sunday when Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior spoke out after abuse in Valencia, saying Spain is a racist country because there are “ongoing incidents in several cities’, and his club lodged a hate crime complaint with the Spanish Attorney General’s Office.

That provoked an irritated reaction from Vinicius on social media from Tebas, for which he subsequently apologized, but after complaining the league’s hands are tied by the country’s law, meaning LaLiga is currently all about incidents can identify and report and penalties are rarely imposed, said the outspoken president who firmly believes he can fix the problem quickly.

“What we want is the power to do more things. We believe that with power this could be resolved within a few months,” he said at a specially scheduled press conference.

“We’re going the legal route and I think that in six months that will be zero and we’ll be the best league in the world.”

“The skills we want are for those intolerable behaviors — racism, homophobia.”

When Tebas questioned his six-month solution claim, he added: “We were able to achieve economic control to prevent our clubs from going bankrupt. So if we get the powers we need we can stop this because it’s easier to stop than financially.” Control.

“Tomorrow a communique will be sent to the head of government and the political parties, demanding that the law against racism, xenophobia and intolerance be changed as a matter of urgency, and asking the (Spanish football) federation and LaLiga to transfer powers receive.”

When asked why LaLiga hadn’t made such a request earlier, Tebas said: “That was probably a mistake on our part too, but we thought we were making headway in court when we filed complaints directly.”

“We’ve seen that it’s not enough and we need more agility and more speed to solve these problems faster.”

Meanwhile, Tebas said Vinicius would have his full support should he decide to leave the pitch in the face of more racial slurs.

“Of course, if he feels affected, I would encourage him to leave the field,” he said.

“He and the whole team could do without it. That’s the referee’s decision, but I would encourage him to leave the field – he has my personal support and LaLiga support.”

LaLiga has established dedicated reporting channels via email and its website to expedite the identification of individuals engaging in racist behavior. Since LaLiga’s integrity and safety department was established in 2015, however, according to documentation provided, there have only been more than a dozen racist incidents related to matches reported by LaLiga.

However, as of December 2020, LaLiga also lists nine separate incidents linked to Vinicius, four of which have been resolved but only two have been found to be racist, with clubs involved being allowed to impose sanctions themselves.

Tebas denied that Spain was a racist country but admitted he was worried about the league’s global image given the recent allegations, although he didn’t think it would deter black players from signing with LaLiga clubs.

“If I didn’t worry, I’d be crazy. Of course I’m worried and we will work to find a solution to change this image. Spanish football is not racist,” said Tebas, who said he will speak to Vinicius when things “calm down” but has contacted sponsors to give them reassurances.

“We believe it does not reflect reality. It’s unexpected and difficult, but we have to face it, we can’t just hide in the corner and cry.

“We protect black athletes from all forms of racism. We will continue to protect them from any insults they receive on the field, in their professional careers and off their professional careers.”