Real Madrid: what Vinícius Jr. said about his future 0:18
(CNN) --
Real Madrid star Vinícius Jr. has condemned what he called racist criticism for his dancing while celebrating a goal.
In his appearance on Spanish television on Friday, Pedro Bravo - a top agent and president of the Association of Spanish Agents - compared Vinícius Jr's dance celebrations after scoring to the behavior of a monkey, arguing that the striker was not respecting his rivals and "should stop goofing around".
"When you score against a rival, if you want to dance samba, you go to the Brazilian sambadrome, here what you have to do is respect your teammates and stop acting like a monkey," he said.
Bravo was accused of using racist language by many on social media and has since apologized on Twitter, explaining that he had misused a metaphor.
But in a video posted on Vinícius Jr.'s social media on September 16, the Brazilian international addressed the criticism and said he would not stop dancing.
advertising
"'As long as the color of the skin is more important than the brightness of the eyes, there will be war.' I have this phrase tattooed on my body," Vinícius Jr. said in his Instagram post.
"This thought is permanent in my head. This is the attitude and philosophy that I try to practice in my life. They say that happiness is annoying. The happiness of a black Brazilian who succeeds in Europe is much more annoying!
"But my desire to win, my smile and the sparkle in my eyes are bigger than all this. You can't even imagine it. I was the victim of xenophobia and racism in a single statement. But none of this started yesterday."
Vinícius Jr. celebrates a goal against Deportivo Alavés earlier this year.
The 22-year-old named other players who also danced in celebration after scoring.
And he added: "Weeks ago they began to criminalize my dances. Dances that are not mine. They are from Ronaldinho, from Neymar, from (Lucas) Paquetá, from (Antoine) Griezmann, from João Félix, from Matheus Cunha... they are from the Brazilian funk and samba artists, reggaeton singers and black Americans.
"They are dances to celebrate the cultural diversity of the world. Accept it, respect it. I will not stop doing it."
"The script always ends with an apology and 'I've been misunderstood', but I repeat, racist: I'm not going to stop dancing. Be it at the Sambodromo, at the Bernabéu or wherever."
In his apology on Twitter, Bravo said: "I want to clarify that the expression 'play the monkey' that I mistakenly used to describe Vinícius' goal celebration dance was used metaphorically ("play the fool"). Considering that my intention It was not offending anyone, I sincerely apologize, I'm sorry."
Neither the Association of Spanish Agents nor Atresmedia, the broadcaster of the show on which Bravo made his comments, immediately responded to CNN's request for comment.
The agent's comments came after Atletico Madrid player Koke Resurrection warned Vinícius not to dance if he scored in Sunday's Madrid derby.
Atlético coach Diego Simeone said before that game: "We live in a society in which we are all involved. We are people and this is the society we have."
Vinícius Júnior was a victim of racism in the clash between Real Madrid and Mallorca
Vinícius celebrates after scoring Real Madrid's second goal against Mallorca.
The Brazilian team offered its support to Vinícius Jr. "There will be dances, dribbles, but above all (there will be) respect," he wrote on Twitter, accompanied by a video of Vinícius Jr and his teammates, Neymar and Lucas Paquetá, dancing after a goal.
"Our athlete (Vinicius Jr.) was the target of racist statements this Thursday night (15). The CBF reinforces and stands in solidarity with #BailaViniJr."
Real Madrid, for whom Vinícius Jr. has had an excellent start to the season with five goals in eight games, said in a statement that the club would take "legal action against anyone who makes racist comments towards our players."
Vinícius Jr explained that he has worked so that future generations are better educated on these issues.
"I come from a country where poverty is very great, where people don't have access to education and, in many cases, don't have food on the table," he said.
"On and off the field, I have developed an app to help the education of children in public schools without financial help from anyone. I am building a school on my own behalf. I will do much more for education. I want the next generations to be prepared, like me, to fight against racists and xenophobes".
"I always try to be a professional and an exemplary citizen. But this doesn't get clicks, it's not trending on the internet, nor does it motivate cowards to speak aggressively about people they don't even know."
FootballRacismReal MadridVinícius Jr.