Real Madrid: The media’s fury over Vinicius Jr’s dance is unfair

In Spanish football, a controversy has lately erupted over something absolutely needless and uncalled for. The possibility has been floated that that there is a risk of Atletico Madrid fans causing trouble at the Wanda Metropolitano this Sunday if Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr. celebrates a goal with his regular dance moves.

This has led to a lot of discussion about Vinicius, especially given that the player has been celebrating goals by dancing on several occasions lately.

For some reason, something as insignificant as celebrating a goal in the manner he wants, has put the name of Vinicius in the headlines and garnered a lot of negative publicity for the Brazilian.

Vinicius has also had to face racial abuse on social media over the last few days. However, it is regrettably nothing new for the Brazilian star, who has endured racism throughout his time in Madrid and unfortunately, not much action has been taken regarding it.

Real Madrid: The media’s fury over Vinicius Jr dancing to celebrate his goals is completely unfair

Out of all the bigger things that could be discussed about, people have chosen the most inconsequential thing to get outraged over.

Vinicius and several other players have been subjected to racism by football fans in Spain over the years, but the problem has still persisted.

The faulty VAR system and frequent refereeing mistakes are prevalent issues in La Liga, but not much has been done to improve that. But somehow, a person expressing basic human emotions by dancing has become the biggest topic of discussion in Spanish football.

Incredibly, there was no outrage against Antoine Griezmann when he celebrated with the Fortnite ‘L’ dance against Real Madrid years back at the Santiago Bernabeu. Then why is it a problem when Vinicius does it?

Several Brazilian players have come out in support of Vinicius at this time and highlighted the absurdity of the small thing that is being manufactured into a big problem. Neymar expressed his support for his fellow national teammate on Twitter, and this was followed by great gestures from the likes of Raphinha, Thiago Silva, Richarlison, and none other than Pele himself on Instagram.

This is the spirit of the beautiful game that we all enjoy watching and playing. Football is joy, football is poetry, football is a dance in itself. In an era where many complain that the game is losing its soul to commercialisation, these small moments of jubilation and emotion are what keep the root of this sport alive.

It is absolutely unfair to criticise Vinicius for something so trivial. The 22-year-old is doing something that he loves to and is expressing it. And he is not the first one to dance to celebrate goals either. Iconic names like Ronaldinho, Neymar and many others have done so before him. It is part of the Brazilian culture.

In the end, whatever happens, the dance must go on.