Jude Bellingham believes “more needs to be done” by football authorities after the latest incident of racist abuse in La Liga.
On Saturday, a Mallorca fan was shown on televised footage making a monkey gesture after Bellingham’s Real Madrid team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni scored the only goal of the game.
Mallorca said in a statement on Sunday they were working with police to identify the individual.
It was not the first time such an incident has occurred at Mallorca: in February 2023, a home fan also racially abused Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior. The Brazil forward has been regularly subjected to racist abuse and has been targeted at more than 10 Spanish stadiums over the past two years.
“I think in the games where we go away in La Liga especially you almost get so used to it,” said Bellingham, after Saturday’s racist abuse of Tchouameni was highlighted. “More needs to be done, whether punishments or how you react proactively.
“It’s horrible to prepare for a game knowing you might be abused, it is disgusting and the people in power need to do more.
“With Vini, over years, the blame gets shifted on to him because of how he plays, how he expresses himself. The game would miss players like Vini if he decided to take a break because of this kind of thing.
“More needs to be done to support these kind of players.
“It’s definitely a call-out to the people in who are charge to take control. I doubt it will happen. It’s going to be something I imagine that we will just have to deal with going into games.
“But it’s kind of one of those things where you just have to play your game and hope that the people look after you, and they’re not doing it well enough at the minute.”
In March, Vinicius said racist abuse directed towards him is getting worse because perpetrators are going unpunished, as he broke down in tears during an emotional Brazil press conference.
Last month, he imitated the iconic gesture made by Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Mexico Olympics by raising a fist after scoring at Valencia, where he faced his most shocking episode of abuse last season. Then, La Liga reported alleged racist chanting towards him before Atletico Madrid’s Champions League match against Italian club Inter Milan.
In January 2023, an effigy of Vinicius Jr was hung from a bridge near Valdebebas before a Madrid derby.
Bellingham was speaking ahead of the second leg Madrid’s Champions League quarter-final tie against Manchester City, which takes place at the Etihad on Wednesday.
GO DEEPER
Brazil and Spain’s anti-racism match: Vinicius Jr disappointed and no money to charity
(Oscar J. Barroso / AFP7 via Getty Images)
2024-04-16 23:16:28
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