This Wednesday, striker Vinicius Junior received major awards from Rio de Janeiro’s regional and municipal legislatures at a ceremony at the Maracanã stadium that approved the regional anti-racism law that bears his name.
“I hope my family is proud of me and everything they have done to bring me here. This is a special day,” the Real Madrid and Brazil player said at the event.
The attacker received the Tiradentes medal, the main award of the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro, and the Pedro Ernesto medal, the city council’s main award.
“Sometimes I wonder if I deserve so much. I did not expect so many awards and all this affection at Marakana, ”he added.
The player’s decision to directly confront fans who showered him with racist slurs during the match between Real Madrid and Valencia for the championship of Spain inspired the law against racism in stadiums, which comes into force from Wednesday in the state of Rio de January.
The law, authored by Deputy Josimar and sanctioned by Governor Claudio Castro, provides for automatic suspension of matches if racist slurs are registered, and even a permanent suspension if discrimination continues.
The so-called “Lay Vini Jr.”. it also establishes an Anti-Racism Protocol which tells any citizen how to report racist behavior to any authority in the stadium.
In addition to medals, the city council also awarded the footballer the title of “Citizen of Carioca”.
At the ceremony, the Real Madrid striker also left his mark on the Walk of Fame in Maracanã, the greatest temple of Brazilian football, where the footprints of stars such as Pelé, Garrincha, Rivelino and Ronaldo already exist.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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