Spanish soccer league president Javier Tebas said Real Madrid player Vinicius Junior was inconsistent in an interview in which he said Spain should not host the 2030 World Cup unless racism in domestic soccer is addressed.
Vinicius told CNN earlier this month that "Spain should not host the World Cup if there is no progress on racism by 2030."
The Real Madrid star was criticized by the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, who asked him to retract his statement.
Also, Tebas didn't like the statement of the Brazilian footballer, who has been the target of various racial insults since joining Real in 2018.
"I think you will see that his statements were not in line with what he said in the interview. At the same time he says that Spain should be considered as the host of the World Cup and that Spain is not a racist country," Tebas told reporters in China, where is in business meetings, Spanish media reported.
Tebas said he agreed with some of the things Vinicius said.
"Let's remove the inconsistency and leave the coherent one, which is that Spain is not a racist country, and I agree with Vinicius on that," said Tebas.
Real Madrid footballer Dani Carvajal supports his teammate in the fight against racism, but rejected claims that Spain should be stripped of hosting the World Cup.
Along with Spain, the tournament will be organized by Portugal and Morocco in 2030, and matches will be played in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, which will mark the 100th anniversary of the World Cup.
The president of Real Florentino Peres is not satisfied with the statement of Vinicius about the eventual forfeiture of the organization of the World Cup and he is increasingly annoyed by the attitude of the Brazilian footballer, Spanish media reported.
It is speculated that Real are considering the possibility of selling Vinicius because of his public image. Real is also bothered by the fact that Vinicius and Rodrigo make statements to the media when they go to the Brazilian national team, and they do not speak much to the media on Spanish soil, and this is exactly what happened last week.
Bonus video:
