Pablo Franco Martin has his say on Vinicius Jr racism saga in Spain
Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr was recently driven to tears by the subject of numerous instances of racist abuse he has suffered in Spain and Pablo Franco Martin, who’s the Spanish native, has expressed his view.
The Brazilian winger was speaking on Monday ahead of their match against Spain as part of the anti-racism campaign called “One Skin”.
He says it has been hard for him to move forward with the abuse he has suffered, stating that he feels “less and less like playing” football.
According to BBC Sport, in the last campaign, 10 incidents of racial harassment against Vinicius Jr were “reported to prosecutors by La Liga”.
While AmaZulu FC head coach Martin admitted that they are still struggling with racism in his homeland, he insisted that the country has done its utmost to eliminate the problem
He believes that many that are lacking education are the ones who perpetuate it.
MARTIN SAYS NOT EVERYONE IS A RACIST IN SPAIN
“Even him in the press conference said that Spain is not a racist country but there are some racists people there and many of them go to the stadiums,” said Pablo Franco Martin.
“It’s a historical problem for the Spanish football where some of the groups of fans chant and provoke [players] in the stadiums.
“Spain has improved a lot. I remember when I used to go with my father to Santiago Bernabeu and I used to see the [racists] boards there and they were shouting and imitating monkey sounds or chanting like monkeys to black people, saying unbelievable things.
“It’s a matter of where we’re coming from and where we’re going as a country. Unlikely, there are still people doing like that.
“Some of them, it’s just lack of education and some of them, it’s beliefs which is even more dangerous. But I think it’s [racism] disappearing all around the world but unlikely all around the world there are behaviours like those ones.
“Here probably between different tribes of different people, it happens as well and it’s not nice and I think in the end we are human beings, it’s not a matter of skin or colour all of us have.
‘I RESPECT YOU GUYS…I UNDERSTAND YOU & ME ARE EQUAL’
“I respect you guys, and I respect everyone. I’ve been in many countries and I understand that you and me are equal.
“So, it’s something that is all around the world. I need to say that Spain is an amazing country, we are not a racist country.
“I hope with education and in some years [it improves] especially because of my daughters. It’s something that I’m proud of that they came here with me in this country and they go to school with white, Indian, black and coloured people.
“And they have friends with all the races and they respect each other. This is the way to change things, we live together and we are all the same and we need to respect each other because we are human beings.”
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