Brazil teammates kneel, wear black shirts in solidarity with Vinicius Junior
Barcelona, Spain –
Brazil sent a signal against racism by swapping its bright yellow shirts for an all-black look during a friendly against Guinea in Barcelona on Saturday.
Brazil said this was the first time its outfield players wore black shirts. They switched back to yellow for the second half.
Brazil striker Vinicius Junior has been racially abused in Spain this season when he played for his Real Madrid club on away matches.
Another alleged racist incident occurred on Saturday before the friendly match. The abuse allegedly happened to a friend and adviser of Vinicius, Felipe Silveira, at the stadium, the Brazilian Football Federation said.
“The fight against racism, a crime that needs to stop around the world, is also why we are here,” CBF President Ednaldo Rodrigues said in a statement. “That’s why our national team also played in black for the first half of the game. And today another criminal was publicly exposed.”
At the Espanyol stadium, Brazil and Guinea posed in front of a banner reading “There is no game with racism” in Portuguese. Vinicius and his teammates also got down on their knees.
Vinicius added a goal from the penalty spot to complete a 4-1 victory for the five-time world champions.
On Thursday, Vinicius agreed to join a revived FIFA task force to tackle racism in football.
Brazil will play Senegal in Lisbon on Tuesday and continue its anti-racism campaign.
