\u2018If we keep fighting together, future players won\u2019t have to go through this again,\u2019 the Real Madrid player said.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n Published On 7 Apr 2026<\/span>7 Apr 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior has praised Barcelona player Lamine Yamal for publicly condemning<\/a> anti-Muslim chants in a recent match, saying players need to stick together in the fight against discrimination.<\/p>\n Vinicius spoke on Monday, less than a week after Yamal\u00a0criticised the chants\u00a0by Spanish fans<\/a> in Spain\u2019s friendly against Egypt last Tuesday. Yamal, who is Muslim, said the chants were disrespectful and intolerable.<\/p>\n Vinicius, a Brazil international, has often been subjected to racist taunts while playing in Europe and is vocal about the fight against racism. He said \u201cit\u2019s always complicated\u201d to talk about the subject but \u201cthese things happen a lot.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully we can continue with this fight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important that Lamine speaks about it. It could help others. We are famous, we have money, we can balance these things better, but the poor people and the Black people who are everywhere, they surely struggle more than we do. So we have to stick together, those who have a stronger voice, the players\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Vinicius accused Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni of calling him a monkey after the Brazil forward celebrated in front of the home fans when he scored for Madrid in a Champions League match last month in Lisbon. Benfica fans insulted Vinicius from the stands.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not saying that Spain or Germany or Portugal are racist countries, but there are racists in these countries, and in Brazil and other countries as well,\u201d Vinicius said. \u201cBut if we keep fighting together, I think future players and people in general won\u2019t have to go through this again.\u201d<\/p>\n Vinicius spoke on the eve of the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal between Madrid and Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid.<\/p>\n Last week,\u00a0Yamal, who is Muslim, slammed the \u201cintolerable\u201d chants at the \u2060\u2060RCDE Stadium near Barcelona, the home ground of La Liga club Espanyol.<\/p>\n \u201c[The chanting] was aimed at the opposing team and was not something personal against me, but as a Muslim it is still a lack of respect and something intolerable,\u201d Yamal wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n \u201cTo those who sing these things: using a religion as a form of mockery on a pitch shows you up as ignorant and racist.\u201d<\/p>\n Yamal, whose father moved from Morocco to Spain, came down hard on the fans.<\/p>\n \u201cI know I was playing for the rival team and it wasn\u2019t something personal against me but as a Muslim person it doesn\u2019t stop being disrespectful and something intolerable.<\/p>\n \u201cI am a Muslim. Yesterday at the stadium the chant \u2018the one who doesn\u2019t jump is the Muslim\u2019 was heard.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/2017-06-08T131939Z_1189275883_RC11B0FE7F20_RTRMADP_3_GULF-QATAR-JAZEERA-1714943623.jpg?resize=96%2C96&quality=80)
<\/div>\n![\"Soccer](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-01-11T190547Z_1265518044_UP1EM1B1H1LE1_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-SPAIN-BAR-RMA-1775556273.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C513&quality=80\")
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