Jude Bellingham has called racism in Spanish football “a huge problem” and demanded action from football’s governing bodies.
The English superstar saw Real Madrid teammates Vinicius Jr and Aurelien Tchouameni – become targets of racism.
Accordingly, French midfielder Tchouameni was targeted by Mallorca fans after his beautiful goal to help Los Blancos win 1-0 last weekend.
Meanwhile, Vinicius Jr is regularly the victim of racist abuse, with the player in tears when asked about the impact the abuse left on him last month.
Speaking at Real Madrid’s pre-match press conference for their Champions League quarter-final second leg against Manchester City, Jude Bellingham wished that the players would be better protected.
Regarding the abuse Tchouameni suffered, Bellingham admitted: “It’s crazy you say that. I don’t know. In matches you get used to it.”
“I didn’t even know about the incident. It’s a big problem, the people at the top need to do more. It’s really terrible when a player knows they’re going to be racially abused. “
“It’s disgusting, I say again the people at the top need to have more impact.”
Last season, Vinicius Jr. stopped playing in response to Valencia fans at Mestella who were racist towards him in the stands. The Brazilian international admitted in a recent emotional press conference that he felt “less and less” wanting to play due to abuse.
As for Tchouameni, Mallorca confirmed they are working with police to investigate an allegedly racist gesture towards him during last weekend’s match.
The rematch between Man City and Real Madrid will take place at 2:00 a.m. on April 18 (Vietnam time). In the first leg, the two teams drew in a 6-goal match.
