As the public discussion over racism in Spanish football reached a boiling point last week as a result of accusations made by Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr., players at grassroots football teams perceived racism in sports as a lesser concern than in their everyday life.
On Sunday, racist shouts were directed toward the Brazilian player at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, and he claimed that Spain and La Liga were not doing enough to prevent it from happening. As a result, three supporters were detained for their involvement in the incident.
“I find it more in real life: in schools, with children, in discos, it usually happens a lot,” said Adrian Alpanez, a 23-year-old Black Spaniard who plays for AE Ramassa, a regional club in Catalonia that competes in the fourth division and is headquartered in Les Franqueses del Valles, which is around 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Barcelona. Alpanez currently resides in Les Franqueses del Valles.
“Regrettably, that is something that we are going to have to deal with. Clearly, this is not a positive development,” he went on to say.
Ghanaian Charles Kwarteng, 24, who has been residing in Spain for the past six years, stated that he had discovered in soccer a method to integrate, and he claimed that the insults faced by the great Brazilian player had more to do with trying to disrupt his game than racism per se. Kwarteng currently resides in Spain.
Mohamed Cherif Khaled, who is originally from western Sahara, stated that he did not consider Spain to be a racist nation. However, he went on to say, “There are racists in Spain, yes.”
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