At a public event earlier today, Roberto Carlos, a legendary player for Real Madrid, talked about the controversial El Derbi match between his old team and Atletico Madrid, as well as Vinicius Jr.’s fight against racism.
There was trouble at last night’s match at the Civitas Metropolitano because some home team fans threw things at Thibaut Courtois. The game was briefly stopped because of this.
Fans wore masks to hide their names and yelled horrible things at both the Belgian and Vinicius during the game.
Carlos on the dispute over the Derby
Carlos said that the events do not reflect well on La Liga and that Spanish football deserves better when he talked about what happened.
“The way people see Spanish football worries me the most.” “We are going to wait for the Federation to make the right choices so that this doesn’t happen again and a match has to be stopped for 20 minutes,” he said.
“This can’t happen here; I’ve lived in Spain for a long time.” It was a shame. Now is the time to fix this.
When asked what could be done to make sure that similar things don’t happen again, the great Brazilian said:
The people who are in charge need to do what they need to do. I don’t care about the team; I just want Barcelona to do well in sports.
Carlos talked about the fans who came last night wearing masks and hoodies to hide their faces and yelling obscenities at the players:
“Yesterday was a sad day.” The things that happened yesterday are not normal, and I really care about the Atlético fans. The picture is very bad.
“I believe I saw it in Mexico.” Seeing a picture of the men in hoods makes an impact on me. It was very strange that they were already ready for something.
On Vinicius Jr.
Ballon d’Or incoming. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
Roberto Carlos also spoke in depth about Real Madrid talisman Vinicius Jr. and his recent statements about racism in Spain.
The Merengues’ legend insisted that Spain was not a racist country, but called for efforts to be made to root out the evil of racism.
“Vinicius may have said some phrases but it was an interview and if he makes a mistake I’ll pull his ears. Vinicius has to be treated with affection,” he said.
Continuing, he added: “I don’t think Spain is a racist country. I went to the pitch to enjoy myself and when I got the ball I expected people to get fed up.
“The Vini thing is over, the insults for being black. I am black and I have that joie de vivre for being black. And when we go, we all go down there. We have to put an end to racism.”
Further commenting on Vinicius, Carlos tipped him to win the Ballon d’Or saying: “Vini is super calm. He knows he is very close to being the best in the world.
“He played some great games last season and this year we are trying to make him more relaxed with the crowds and the Ballon d’Or is there. I’m very sure he’s going to win it.”
On Simeone and Thibaut Courtois
Following the match, Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone took a shot at Thibaut Courtois, claiming that the Belgian was guilty of provoking the fans after Real Madrid scored.
When asked about the Argentine tactician’s statements, Carlos refrained from commenting on the Atleti boss’ opinions, saying:
“Everyone has their own opinion. I could comment if Ancelotti had said something because he is the coach of my team. Simeone is not from my team. I have the utmost respect and the utmost affection and it is normal that he defends his colours.
“We know what the world of football is like. Simeone is a great coach but in the end, yesterday was a bad image.”
As to whether he felt Courtois was in the wrong last night, the former left-back said: “Everyone knows when they are wrong. I think they are a bit wrong because Courtois didn’t return the lighters to the stands either. He didn’t make any gestures or insult anyone.”