Vinicius Jr was racially abused real Madrid‘s match against Valencia at the weekend” data-src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/lY5se5BP7Zh7doE5LZPr0g–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0Ng–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/afp.com/92f204c430f5bddace822 e9 00f51bc4a ” data-src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/lY5se5BP7Zh7doE5LZPr0g–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0Ng–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/afp.com/92f204c430f5bddace822e9 0 0f51bc4a ” />
The United Nations Human Rights Commissioner on Wednesday condemned racist attacks on Brazilian soccer player Vinicius Junior during a match in Spain and called for a concerted effort to eradicate racism from sport.
“We call on all organized sporting events around the world to counteract, fight and prevent racism,” Volker Türk told reporters in Geneva.
His comments came after Real Madrid striker Vinicius, 22, was attacked from the stands with ‘monkey’ shouts during a game in Valencia on Sunday – the latest in a series of racist attacks against him.
Turk said it was “a stark reminder of the spread of racism in sport.”
He applauded the “very violent reaction of the authorities” and pointed out that “they started arresting people very quickly afterwards”.
“An investigation must take place. It is clear that this is a matter that will concern the judiciary.”
However, he stressed that “those who organize sporting events take this issue very seriously”.
Turk highlighted the many positive aspects of the sport, such as community building.
But he said, “We also have to deal with the dark side.”
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said he had asked his office to draft a policy letter on racism in sport.
“We need to look closely at human rights and sport from a wide range of perspectives,” he said.
“We want to put forward a clear set of ideas about human rights standards at sporting events,” he said, referring to issues around participation, inclusion and “fighting stigma and racism”.
“We have seen discrimination across a wide range of issues, including gender discrimination and also discrimination against LGBTI people participating in sporting events,” Turk said.
It must be made absolutely clear, he said, that “racism is totally unacceptable”.
He said everyone in society should think about how they behave.
“Am I biased? … How do I react when I see someone else making a racial insult? … Can I deal with it, do I react to it?”
“We need to find ways to eradicate it completely in the 21st century. To do this, everyone has to participate.”
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