Vinícius is Targeted by the Government, Marlaska Explodes Against the Brazilian: 'It Hurt Me'

Vinícius Is Back in the Spotlight in our country for a reason unrelated to soccer. The interview on "El Larguero" with the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has left some statements pointing to the verdeamarelo footballer in his fight against racism in Spanish soccer.

This government representative directly points to the Real Madrid player in the following terms: "It hurt me a little, as a Spanish citizen", Grande-Marlaska responds to Vinícius. The white '7' stated, before correcting himself, that "Spain is a racist country", a statement that has also cost the merengue striker great controversies, as well as insults and more attacks. The Minister of the Interior, despite everything, agrees with him: "he said it well, he said a minority, but let's not be identified by a minority".

According to Fernando Grande-Marlaska, "we must not let the 1% determine how the rest of us are labeled". Meanwhile, the Minister of the Interior spoke in his interview on Cadena SER about the progress in the fight against racism and violence in Spanish soccer. "We are moving forward, we are putting the necessary means", the minister warns.

"Soccer is not part of the College of Psychologists, there are other places to go for therapy. Before, there was no cooperation, radicals were protected in all soccer fields", Fernando Grande-Marlaska recalls. The Minister of the Interior makes it clear, despite the progress made to date, that "we have to keep advancing much more until we completely eradicate it".

Curious Statements

One of the ways to protect footballers like Vinícius from the racist insults and attacks he has received in the past is the law. "The Sports Law against Violence, Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance in Sports is from 2007. We have an Anti-Violence Commission and every year there are more sanctions", the Minister of the Interior recalls about the complaints received at the end of each matchday.

Fernando Grande-Marlaska warns seriously: "Let the wrongdoers know, we have cameras that can capture more than 90,000 people at Camp Nou, or more than 70,000 at Bernabéu". With those cameras, "we can individualize each of those people and what they are doing at that moment" to apply the corresponding sanctions if necessary.

The Minister of the Interior points out that the best way to combat violence in Spanish soccer is to "keep adding clubs that understand the importance of getting involved". Despite everything, "there are some clubs that cooperate more and others that don't cooperate as much as we would like. There are clubs that become aware of the importance of that collaboration sooner, and not opening their eyes doesn't help the sport or its ethical heritage", the minister comments.

"We can't remove the public to ensure safety", Fernando Grande-Marlaska admits. "But we have the right to demand that sporting events are not a free-for-all for hate, because that security is paid for by all Spaniards", the main objective of all the measures.