Javier Tebas, the president of LaLiga, called a press conference yesterday to defend that the clubs' management has long been the institution that has fought the most in Spain against racism. Tebas asked for more powers because he understands that many of the complaints presented have been dismissed or with very light penalties. "We want a modification of the 2007 sports law and we are studying the possibility of introducing very innovative sanctioning measures. You can't take points from the clubs here. It would be good to start thinking about this topic and introduce it. Hopefully they put it as a penalty. If we have the skills, in six months we will be at zero racism. Football was bankrupt and we cleaned it up. And this issue was more difficult", he said.
Tebas, who admitted that he has not spoken to Vinícius since the racism incident at Mestalla, also went on to praise the Real Madrid player, who he said "is a very important asset of the League. I already said years ago, when Leo Messi left Barcelona, that Vinícius will be a future Ballon d'Or. He is a very good player and we want him to stay." And he continued with the praise: "The great players are white from the anger of racist insults. Vinícius is the best player in our competition and that's why he suffers the wrath of the intolerant. That is why we have put special vigilance in the games that Vinícius plays away from home. Because it generates this kind of animosity. Another mistake is to think that it causes. It's not like that. It already happened to Cristiano and Messi. Vinícius is not insulted because he is a provocateur", said Tebas.
Tebas' public intervention comes after the president of LaLiga crossed derogatory tweets with Vinícius hours after Sunday's Valencia-Real Madrid match at Mestalla. "When I talk to him I will say: 'I'm sorry if you think I offended you.' I understand that you are frustrated. He has no reason to know what LaLiga is doing or who has the skills."
Javier Tebas recalled that, with the current regulations, LaLiga has already filed ten complaints for racist actions against Vinícius. On the question of whether he is in favor of closing the stands because of what had happened, he answered with a quick yes. And he also answered with another yes to the question of whether he was in favor of removing from the playing field the team that receives racist insults.
Tebas recalled that he has not been judicially charged in any of LaLiga's complaints. He also said that he was very worried about what had happened: "It is clear that I am worried about the image we give abroad. If I didn't care I'd be crazy. But Spain is not racist. In life you get hit. We need to work to recover the reputation we may have lost. We will not stay crying".
Tebas also defended the Competition resolution in which the red card was withdrawn from Vinícius: "The three lawyers were together for many hours. The decision has a deep legal weight and legal basis. They consider that there is not all the evidence and that the referee did not have all the analysis", he declared.
The president of LaLiga said that he is very affected: “These days are the worst of my life, as president and as a person. I feel very affected. I've been accused of being a racist, something very serious and something I've never been".
Luis Rubiales, the president of the Federation, also spoke about the issue: "Spain is not racist but there is a problem of education and behaviour. This affects society and also those who go to football not to encourage but to insult”.
