Vinícius Jr. will be in charge of directing a new committee to combat racism. This was announced this Thursday by the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, who confirmed that the commission will be made up of soccer players who will propose punishments for cases of racism that occur in soccer.
"There will be no more football with racism. The matches must stop immediately when it happens. Enough is enough," the FIFA chief told Reuters during his visit to the concentration of the Brazilian team in Barcelona, which will play this Saturday against Guinea in the middle of a campaign against racism promoted by the Football Federation of that country.
"I asked Vinícius to lead this group of players who will present more severe punishments against racism and that will then be implemented by all soccer authorities around the world," added Infantino.
The leader also delved into the reasons that led him to create this new committee. "We need to listen to the footballers and what they need to work in a safer environment. We take this issue very seriously. We need harsher punishments. We can no longer tolerate racism in football. As FIFA president I felt that I needed to speak out person with Vinícius about this," he said.
Vinícius was the victim of racist insults last May when Real Madrid faced Valencia at the Mestalla. La Liga has already reported ten incidents of racism involving the Madrid footballer, and this issue has gone around the world.
Infantino also deepened that racism is a global problem. "Unfortunately, racism is not a problem that exists only in Spain. It exists in many more countries. That is why we have to take collective measures to fight against it throughout the world," the chief sentenced.
On the possible new measures that can be taken in the future, it is clear that they will not hesitate to take a step forward. "An act of racism is a criminal act. From now on, FIFA will take legal action with the local authorities, we will add complaints filed in the local courts," Infantino concluded.
