Brazilian FA Chief Talks About 'Harder Punishment' Amid Anti-Racism Campaign

The football association heads of Spain and Brazil are not taking racism lightly.

Spanish Football Federation President Luis Rubiales and Brazilian Football Association Chief Ednaldo Rodrigues recently met in Madrid to start their joint movement to fight racism. It is under the slogan "One skin."

Rodrigues said that it is important to understand that "harder punishment needs to be applied in cases of racism by the football authorities."

He thinks that fines are not enough, and that the "clubs need to be held accountable too." He said that

Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) was the "first football federation to adopt harder sanctions for cases of racism." Giving examples, he shared there was the "deduction of points in league standings, closure of stands or the lifetime expulsion of club members."

He noted that they need to lead a campaign worldwide to "fight against this virus in football."

Brazil and Spain will have a friendly match at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu stadium. The match that is set to take place in March 2024 is part of an anti-racism campaign in support of Brazil international and Real Madrid footballer Vinícius Júnior, reported AS.

Currently, the Brazil team, five-time world champions, is in Europe for a match against Guinea in Barcelona to be played on Saturday. The team will also play Senegal in Lisbon next week.

Rubiales said that there is no place for "racist insults in our football," and that they have a "problem with racism and have to fight."

Last month, Spanish police arrested three people in connection with the racist abuse that was suffered by Júnior during a match with Valencia, reported The Guardian.

A further four suspects had been detained over an effigy of the footballer. The effigy was hung from a bridge in Madrid earlier this year.

The Policía Nacional had said that three young men had been arrested in Valencia over the "racist behavior" that happened during the match at the city's Mestalla stadium in May.

The announcement had come after the police force had revealed that four people had been held on suspicion of hate crimes. It was related to the hanging of an inflatable dummy that was dressed in Vinícius's strip from a bridge in the Spanish capital on Jan. 26.

The dummy was accompanied by a big banner that read, "Madrid hates Real."

Vinícius was repeatedly called a "monkey" during the racist abuse. It highlighted how "something bad is happening in this league," Real Madrid's Italian manager, Carlo Ancelotti, had said.