Real Madrid News
La Liga president apologises to Vinicius Jr over comments amid racism storm: “Not my intention”
A Twitter spat has been brewing over the past couple of days between Real Madrid president Vinicius Jr and La Liga president Javier Tebas.
It all started when Vinicius, who was the subject of racist abuses from Valencia fans at the weekend, publicly called out La Liga and Spain for being racist. Aggrieved by his comments, Tebas took to Twitter to respond to Vinicius.
“Before criticizing and insulting LaLiga, it is necessary that you inform yourself properly. Do not let yourself be manipulated and make sure you fully understand each other’s competencies and the work we have been doing together,” Tebas told Vinicius.
In response, the Brazilian wrote, “Once again, instead of criticizing racists, the president of LaLiga appears on social media to attack me.”
“As much as you talk and pretend not to read, the image of your championship is shaken. See the responses to your posts and have a surprise… Omitting yourself only makes you equal to racists. I’m not your friend to talk about racism. I want actions and punishments. Hashtag doesn’t move me,” he added.
In the aftermath of this Twitter spat, Tebas has now come out in public to apologise to Vinicius. “I didn’t want to attack Vinicius. If he misunderstood the message, I apologize,” he told the media (h/t Mundo Deportivo).
“It was not my intention. I expressed myself badly, at a bad time. I had no intention of attacking Vinicius, but rather to clarify a situation.“
It is no secret that Tebas has been at odds with Real Madrid in recent years. His comments on Vinicius, therefore, have further riled up even the neutral supporters of Spanish football. In fact, RFEF president Luis Rubiales himself recently had a swipe on Tebas.
It will be interesting to see whether Vinicius issues a response to Tebas’ apology in the coming days. The Brazilian certainly has the support of the masses, with even prominent sporting stars coming to his support following the incident this past weekend.
Real Madrid have officially announced the first departure of the 2022/23 season as Marco Asensio leaves the club on a free transfer. The Spaniard was part of the Madrid setup for eight years, and leaves with three Champions Leagues and La Ligas to his name.
With Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, and Eden Hazard in the team, Asensio was the only winger in the team who preferred to play on the right rather than on the left. His left-footedness was also crucial for this.
Madrid will now have to assess the market for replacements, even though they will be handed one themselves in the summer in the form of Brahim Diaz. The Spaniard finishes his loan spell at AC Milan in the summer, and will return to Madrid.
Madrid will have to make a final call on his future, but as of now, are ready to discuss a new long-term deal for and with Diaz, as per a report published by Fabrizio Romano. The extension will be valid until 2027.
Diaz, now 23, initially joined Real Madrid from Manchester City in 2019, completing a €18 million move in the search of game-time. Six appearances in six months later, though, he moved to AC Milan on loan, and has been there since.
However, getting him to stay at Madrid will be difficult, as the player evidently wants to continue at Milan for the foreseeable future. He even suggested his desire to continue in a recent interview.
“I’m happy here at Milan. I feel very good at this club, then I don’t know what is going to happen. I kissed the badge because that’s what I felt at that moment,” he said.
They want him to replace Asensio at the Santiago Bernabeu, but will not force him to stay if he wants to leave.
Benny
May 25, 2023 at 6:28 pm
He should be ashamed of himself for that irresponsible comments he is incompetent, his reputation has been destroyed if he continues to be president of Spanish football he will destroy game