Brazil Faces Spain in Friendly Match at Bernabéu to Combat Racism

Luis Rubiales, the President of the Spanish Football Federation, announced today, Tuesday, that the Spanish national team will play against Brazil in a friendly match at the Santiago Bernabéu in March as part of a campaign to combat racism and support Real Madrid's forward Vinícius Júnior. Brazilian Football Confederation President Ednaldo Rodrigues stated during a joint press conference with Rubiales, "It is important to recognize that football authorities should impose severe penalties in such racist situations." He added, "Fines are not enough; clubs must be held accountable as well. The Brazilian Federation was the first football federation to adopt harsher penalties for cases of racism, such as point deductions in the league, stadium closures, or lifetime bans for club members." Rubiales and his Brazilian counterpart Rodrigues met in Madrid to launch a joint anti-racism campaign under the slogan "One Skin." In response, Rubiales confirmed that "there is no place for racist abuse in our game; it is intolerable that events like those that occurred in Valencia happen in our country," adding, "I feel sorry because this does not represent our country and who we are, and it tarnishes our reputation worldwide; we have a problem with racism, and we must fight it." This campaign comes after Vinícius (22 years old) faced racist abuse during a match in La Liga against Valencia last month, marking the tenth incident reported to the league this season. Last month, the Brazilian Football Confederation launched a national campaign against racism in league matches under the slogan "No Match with Racism." Brazil, five-time world champions, will play a friendly against Guinea in Barcelona on Saturday before facing Senegal in Lisbon three days later.