Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr has been vilified by the deputy spokesperson for the Barcelona Board of Directors, Miquel Camps.
With Vinicius Jr playing for Real Madrid in a 2-1 win against Braga on Tuesday night in the Champions League, Camps expressed his disdain for the Brazilian on social media in a now-deleted tweet. The Barcelona board's deputy spokesperson heavily criticised Vinicius Jr, which faced plenty of backlash prior to being deleted.
Camps wrote: "It's not racism, he deserves a slap for being a clown. What do these unnecessary and meaningless stepovers represent in the center [sic] of the field?"
💥 Mikel Camps, Portavoz adjunto de la Junta Directiva del @FCBarcelona, estalla contra @vinijr😳 "No es racismo, se merece una colleja por payaso y vacilón, qué representan estas bicicletas innecesarias y sin sentido en el centro del campo"📻 #PartidazoCOPE pic.twitter.com/CEXASH9ELJOctober 24, 2023
Last Saturday against Sevilla, Vinicius Jr once again received racist abuse from fans in the crowd. Sevilla immediately ejected the abuser from their Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, before later banning him for life.
Vinicius thanked the club for their quick response to the racist abuse, taking to social media after the game calling for further punishments.
"Congratulations to Sevilla for their quick positioning and punishment in yet another sad episode for Spanish football," Vinicius wrote. "Unfortunately, I had access to a video of another racist act in this Saturday's match, this time carried out by a child.
"The face of today's racist is plastered on websites as on many other occasions. I hope the Spanish authorities do their part and change the legislation once and for all. These people must be criminally punished too."
However, Camps appeared to deny the racism Vinicius Jr received on Saturday in his deleted tweet. Barcelona are yet to comment on the situation, though the 23-year-old's Real Madrid team-mate Rodrygo has criticised the comments.
"I don't know if I can speak, they always encourage us not to speak, but it's pathetic," Rodrygo told El Chiringuito TV. "There's not much to say, very ugly."
Barcelona and Real Madrid meet in the first El Clasico of the season on Saturday at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.
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