Perhaps the postman knocks on the door one of these mornings if he is one of the 181,000 citizens called to form part of a polling station on July 23. Or of the 362,000 substitutes. In that case, except for force majeure, you will think about how annoying it can be to spend more than 12 hours on a summer Sunday in a polling station whose air conditioning may not work. Someone has to do a civic job for the collective good.
Soccer player Vinicius Jr. He had, for weeks, a judicial summons to testify yesterday about the racist insults he received in Mestalla, an issue that paralyzed the world, prompted a statement from the President of Brazil and the rapid arrests in Valencia of the alleged perpetrators, one identified by the player and the other two thanks to the recordings of the security cameras. The match was played on Sunday, May 21.
Not all judicial instructions in Spain are advancing at such a good pace…
Vinícius requested at the last minute to postpone his statement, agreed by videoconference. He is on vacation in Miami. The judge agreed and in view of the fact that the complainant does not seem to be in a great hurry, the statement has been postponed sine die.
The Real Madrid star is in his right. His right to enjoy Miami on vacation, his right to postpone a judicial declaration of a matter that transcends the player: racism in the stadiums of Spain. He has opted for the holidays, a choice that confirms –in my opinion– that Vinícius is still immature (a hypothesis that does not justify the insults he receives): Vinícius and Real Madrid were in favor of suspending the Valencia game in order to make the importance of the anti-racist cause. A great gesture. Now, on the other hand, they are not in favor of interrupting, even for a few hours, the alleged victim’s holiday…
It’s a shame that it was Vinícius and not another more conscious footballer who led the mission to combat racism in stadiums. This fight seems to come in handy for the Real Madrid star: the least he could do is comply with the file and not expose those who have supported him. He had known how to create a strong and transversal current so that the incidents at Mestalla do not remain in a “keep going, keep going” typical of home referees.
With frights like this and four gestures to the public in the next season we will be like the day before the Mestalla clash. Far from the target. The cause deserved more sensitivity and a sense of duty. Oh, where a vacation in Miami is, let the judicial hassles be removed.
