Brazilian legislators in the state of Rio de Janeiro have passed a law to clamp down on racism in sporting events following the racist attacks Vinicius Jr. suffered in a La Liga match against Valencia.
The law that was approved by the deputies of the Rio Legislative Assembly and dubbed “Vinicius Jr. Law” was enacted on Tuesday and shall be subject to Governor Claudio Castro’s sanction.
The Bill 1.112/23 stipulates that “in the event of a complaint or proven racist behavior,” matches on the border of the state will be temporarily stopped, or suspended if the incidents are repeated or are the work of a group.
The dictates of the law hold similarities with a previous racism law adopted by the CBF in its competitions when homophobic chants are registered.
If racial attacks are registered against anyone, the match has to be interrupted, and the interruption will last as long as the racial abuse in the stadium does not end and the event organizer or match delegates deem it necessary. If the act is committed by groups or in a repeated manner, the game must come to an end.
The measures form part of the “Protocol to Combat Racism”, whereby any citizen who witnesses any racial attack against whoever shall report it to authorities present at the stadium: police, security guards, and firefighters.
It shall be followed by onward submission to the organizers of the event, which include the Alerj Commission to Combat Discrimination, the Police Station for Racial Crimes and Intolerance Crimes (Decradi)
The law was authored by Deputy Prof. Josemar (Psol) and was unanimously approved. In addition to what has already been mentioned, the new law also provides for a protocol for conducting complaints and protecting victims.
“We have to extirpate this cancer that is racism, once and for all, especially in sports. This law aims to combat racism and create an egalitarian society. Alerj is the first legislative house to approve a PL with this content in the country”, Deputy Prof. Josemar (Psol) stated.
Vinicius Jr. will also be honored with the Tiradentes Medal, Alerj’s highest honor, which was proposed by Deputy Veronica Lima (PT). The Real Madrid winger went to Brazil on vacation and was at the Maracanã on Monday, the 5th, in a fixture between Basque and Flamengo, where he was honored by both teams.
In a match against Rayo Vallecano at the Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid players wore Vinicius Jr’s jersey in the opening of the game as a support for the winger after he was racially abused in their match against Valencia at Mastella where he was consequently sent off the pitch.