'Spain is not racist' - Dani Carvajal responds to Real Madrid team-mate Vinícius Jr's World Cup 2030 call

The Brazilian forward recently raised concerns about Spain’s ability to host the 2030 World Cup due to persistent incidents of racism in the country. Vinícius' emotional response to the racial abuse he has endured has been well-documented. In March, the Brazilian forward broke down in tears during a press conference, lamenting that racism in football was getting worse due to a lack of serious consequences for offenders. He shared his frustration, stating that he felt "less and less like playing football" as a result of the repeated incidents.

The situation took a significant turn in June when three individuals were convicted and sentenced to eight months in prison for racially abusing Vinícius during a La Liga match against Valencia in May 2023. This marked the first instance of a conviction for racist behaviour in a Spanish football stadium.

Despite the arrests and the implementation of UEFA’s three-step anti-racism protocol, racist incidents have persisted, leading Vinícius to question Spain's readiness to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Portugal and Morocco.

Responding to his teammate’s remarks, Carvajal stood firm in defence of Spain. While he acknowledged the difficulties Vinícius has faced, Carvajal was quick to reject the notion that Spain, as a whole, is a racist country.

"I think LaLiga is improving and developing protocols regarding racism to ensure that the unruly people who go to stadiums to insult others based on their skin colour can't attend sporting events anymore," he stated.

"But beyond that small group of people, I don’t believe Spain doesn’t deserve to host the World Cup. It's a country with a very high cultural diversity; we shouldn’t doubt that it’s not racist because there are many cultures in our country. I grew up in a neighbourhood in Leganés surrounded by many nationalities, and I can proudly say that we are not a racist country."

While Carvajal disagreed with Vinícius’s call to strip Spain of the 2030 World Cup, he expressed solidarity with his teammate in the fight against racism.

"We, as his teammates and the coach as well, have made it clear that we are against any form of racism in the stadiums, which is what concerns us.," he said. "I know what Vini suffers in those moments, having been close to him, and we support him both internally and publicly," Carvajal said during a press conference in Belgrade with the Spanish national team.

Carvajal & Vinicius are currently with their respective national teams ahead of the international break. They will return to Valdebebas in the second week of September before facing Real Sociedad on September 14.