La Liga could reduce the amount of racist incidents in Spain’s top flight in six or seven months if it had the “necessary powers”, the league’s president Javier Tebas says.
The Spanish league has requested more powers to punish incidents of racism.
That came after Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr was the target of racist abuse at Valencia on Sunday.
“We are convinced that if we had those powers, within months we would get rid of this problem,” Tebas told the BBC.
“At least we would improve it considerably in general and specifically in the case of Vinicius. But if we don’t have the powers, all we can do is file complaints,” he added.
READ ALSO:Spanish La Liga president Javier Tebas apologises to Real Madrid striker Vinicius Jr
Tebas said the league has registered nine complaints about racist abuse directed specifically towards Vinicius.
Under Spanish law, La Liga can identify and report cases, but not impose sanctions.
“We want powers, we don’t want to hide on the issue of racist insults,” Tebas said.
“It’s not enough for us only to be able to file complaints, we want to be able to punish anyone who shouts racist insults.
“We will keep trying to make sure nobody in any stadium shouts racist insults.
“Eliminating this problem 100% will never be possible. The same way that totally eliminating robberies and other crimes is impossible but we would reduce it a great deal and, if we were given the necessary powers, in six or seven months we could say that we don’t have racism.”
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