Fresh wave of racial abuses rock football - From Vinicius to Fofana, Tolu Arokodare, others

The recent wave of racial abuses in football has re-echoed a deeply troubling issue that persists within the sport.

In the past week, DAILY POST observed incidents involving players like Real Madrid winger, Vinicius Junior, Chelsea’s Wesley Fofana, Wolves’ Tolu Arokodare, and Burnley midfielder Hannibal Mejbri, demonstrating that racism continues to infiltrate the beautiful game, affecting individuals and their mental well-being.

Such behavior not only harms the players but also damages the integrity of football as a whole.

It also diminishes the inclusive spirit that the sport strives to promote.

DAILY POST takes a look at the fresh wave of racial abuses targeted at some players in the past few weeks.

Vinicius Junior

The Real Madrid winger claimed he was racially abused by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni during their UEFA Champions League play-off Round of 16 first leg clash last week.

The incident happened after the Brazilian winger scored the only goal of the game.

Following a preliminary investigation, UEFA, on Monday, then announced the provisional one-match suspension of Prestianni following his altercation with Vinicius.

UCL: UEFA suspends Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni after Vinicius racism claim

Tolu Arokodare

The Wolves striker showed the racially aggravated messages he received on Instagram after his team’s 1-0 loss at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

The Nigerian international had his penalty saved during the encounter in the first half as Wolves ended up losing the match.

Wolves later confirmed that the abusive posts have been reported to the relevant platforms and that they will work with the English Premier League and authorities to identify those responsible.

Wesley Fofana

The Chelsea defender shared images of racist messages he was sent privately over Instagram following the Blues’ Premier League 1-1 draw with Burnley at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Fofana, who was sent off for receiving two yellow cards against Burnley in the second half of the encounter, posted screenshots of messages he had been sent and wrote on Instagram: “2026, it’s still the same thing, nothing changes. These people are never punished.”

Hannibal Mejbri

Just like Chelsea’s Wesley Fofana, Mejbri shared images of racist messages he was sent privately over Instagram.

This follows Burnley’s Premier League 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Speaking with DAILY POST on Monday, Media Consultant and Football Development Expert, Ibrahim Lawal, gave his view on the subject matter.

Lawal said, “The origin of racism in world footballing dates back to the early years of segregation of black players. It became more prevalent in South Africa during the apartheid period, when black players were restricted from leagues. This caused the intervention of FIFA in 1961 and 1964, banning the South African Football Association for 28 years.

“The recent episode that featured Real Madrid player Vinicius during the Champions League Round of 16 playoffs against Benfica, took the shine off the win as the game had to be stopped after Vinicius signaled to the referee and was walking away from the pitch that he was racially abused by a Benfica player who called him a monkey.

“The Benfica player though denied the allegation but from his defense, it was obvious he was guilty as he tried to say that he actually called Vinicius my brother rather than the use of the word monkey, in Portuguese. However, both words don’t sound the same.

“The most painful racial abuse of the decade was during the 2022 FIFA World Cup when England was knocked out of the competition by Croatia.

“The duo or trio of Saka, Jude Beligham and Raheem Sterling, who are all of black origin, were singled out for criticism and were racially abused; a caricature of them in monkey features was made and shared on social media for missing penalties.

“Though FIFA has zero tolerance and sanctions for players, officials and clubs, which include up to a 10-match ban, money fines, stadium ban and even match forfeiture, also giving much stricter sanctions for 2nd offenders.

“These rules may have curbed the volume of abuse but not entirely eradicating it, as such, FIFA needs to be more vicious and ruthless in their stance, like banning a player or club for a whole season from both local and international tournaments and leagues.

“Also, imposing higher fines of up to one million pounds to erring players will send a message and deter others from engaging in racial abuse.

“The idea of world football is to further unite the world under one umbrella, just like music does, to bridge the gap between diverse cultures, religions, and colors. FIFA should not relent on its stance to combat and control racial discrimination in world football.”

Also, speaking with DAILY POST on the subject matter, Lagos-based journalist, Femi Fabunmi, insisted that racism should not be condoned in football.

According to him, football is meant to unite people and not divide people.

“Racism is bad in its entirety and shouldn’t be condoned. Football is meant to unite and not divide, so any form of violent abuse should be met with proportional punishment,” Fabunmi said.

“Players and fans should be sensitized to the reasons not to involve or initiate any form of racial abuse. And to persons already involved, they should be penalised to serve as a deterrence to others.”

On his part, Eagle Stars FC coach Isma’il Musa called on FIFA and UEFA to enforce stronger punishment for anyone guilty of racial abuse.

“There has been racism in football for a very long time. In my thoughts, several important measures can be put in place to tackle it effectively,” Musa said.

“Firstly, football authorities such as FIFA and UEFA should enforce stricter punishments. Clubs whose fans engage in racist behaviour should face heavy fines, points deductions, stadium closures, or even competition bans. Individual offenders should receive lifetime bans from stadiums and face legal consequences.

“Secondly, matches should be stopped immediately if racist chanting or abuse occurs. Clear zero-tolerance policies must be applied consistently so that everyone understands racism will not be ignored.”

Click here to read article