Manchester City (England) manager Pep Guardiola is skeptical that the problem of racism in Spain is likely to get better.
Following the racist attack on Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) during a Spanish professional soccer Primera Liga match, Guardiola said he was “not positive” that Spain would take the appropriate steps to stamp out racism, ESPN reported on Sunday.
Guardiola spent nearly a decade playing for FC Barcelona in the Primera Liga and led the club from 2008-2009 to 2011-2012, winning three consecutive league titles, two UEFA Champions League titles and two FIFA Club World Cups.
“Of course, racism is everywhere, it’s not a problem of one particular region,” said Guardiola, who added: “I hope that Spain will take a step forward after the ‘Vinicius’ incident, but knowing Spain a little bit, I don’t expect it.”
“I don’t think it will change anything in Spain,” he said skeptically.
“Black people have spent their lives fighting for things they shouldn’t have to defend,” he said, adding that “diversity should be seen as a human strength, but we’ve come too far from that.”
On Nov. 22, the 35th round of the 2022-2023 Spanish Primera Liga between Real Madrid and Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia, Spain, was briefly interrupted during the second half after a heated exchange between Vinicius and the Valencia home crowd.
Chants of “monkey, monkey” were heard from the stands, which led to an emotional clash between Vinicius and the crowd.
The Spanish soccer federation fined Valencia 45,000 euros ($64,000) and partially closed the stands for five games 메이저사이트.