Gareth Bale, 33, who has taken off his soccer boots, also expressed his support for Vinicius Junior (23-Real Madrid).
“Racism is unacceptable in football and in society,” Bale wrote on social media on Wednesday (Aug. 23), “and I hope the Spanish La Liga will punish this issue strongly to prevent it from happening again.” He posted a photo of him shaking hands with Vinicius.
He posted a photo of him shaking hands with Vinicius, with the words “I fully support Vinicius” underneath. The pair played together at Real Madrid from 2018 until the summer of 2022. Bale announced his retirement in January of this year after playing for LA FC in the American Major League Soccer (MLS).
A serious racist incident occurred during the Real Madrid-Valencia match on March 22. Valencia home fans chanted “f*** you monkey” at Real Madrid forward Vinicius. Not just one or two people, but a group. 토토사이트
Eventually, Vinicius exploded. He shouted at the Valencia crowd, and players from both teams tried to stop him. A scuffle ensued. Vinicius was shown a red card and sent off.
The Valencia crowd once again shouted racial slurs at Vinicius as he left the field. Vinicius responded by raising two fingers and saying, “Get relegated to the second division”. The Valencia coaching staff and bench players jumped on him.
As soon as the game was over, Vinicius said, “This is not the first racist attack, not the second, not the third. Racism is a daily occurrence in La Liga. The way La Liga reacts to it seems to encourage it. La Liga was once home to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi, and now it has turned into a place where racism is rampant. It breaks my heart.”
Real Madrid also tweeted, “We strongly condemn the events that took place against Vinicius. This is a serious criminal matter and we will be filing a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office to investigate.”