In a sudden change of stance, La Liga president Javier Tebas has softened his tone of voice and instead spoken in support of racially-abused Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr – whome he had cursorily chastised earlier – saying that he had stated on several occasions that the young Brazilian would be a winner of the prestigious Ballon d’Or in the future.
Tebas’ comments and reversal of stance came after finding himself under rapid fire in the wake of his unsympathetic remarks on the recent racism incident involving Vinicius Jr after the Madrid forward was racially abused by a section of Valencia fans which led to the arrest of three individuals by the Spanish police. The unhappy 22-year-old publicly called out La Liga and Spain for being racist which prompted Tebas to rebuke the player on his social media channels.
“Before criticizing and insulting LaLiga, it is necessary that you inform yourself properly,” the LaLiga president’s statement read, which only served to aggravate the Brazilian FA who were equally prompt in responding.
Several measures had been taken over the last couple of days by the relevant authorities, primary among which being Valencia being eventually penalised for the incident with the closure of the stadium for five games and a fine under the order of the Competition Committee.
As for the LaLiga president, after claiming defensively that his comments corresponding to the events were misinterpreted, Tebas’ latest inference is that the Madrid forward was insulted because he is a great player, even adding that everyone wants the young striker to continue playing in Spain.
“Vini Jr is being insulted because he’s a great player. We want him to continue in Spanish football and to understand what we are doing against racism,” the president was quoted by COPE.
He went on to add, “On several occasions, I have said that I think Vini is going to be a Ballon d’Or winner one day.”
Tebas went on to say that he believes the 22-year-old could even replace Messi in the future.
“They asked me who was the player who could replace Messi and I answered ‘Vinicius’.”