In a significant move to combat racism, Brazil donned an all-black jersey during the first half of their victorious match against Guinea in Spain.
Breaking away from their traditional yellow colors, the South American team emerged triumphant with a 4-1 win at Espanyol’s stadium in Barcelona.
This decision comes in light of the unfortunate incidents of racist abuse directed at Brazil’s forward, Vinicius Jr, during his time with Real Madrid in the previous season. Vinicius himself sealed the victory for his team by converting a late penalty.
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One of the recent instances of racial abuse targeting the 22-year-old occurred when Real Madrid faced Valencia in May. The incident prompted the Bernabeu club to report it to the Spanish prosecutor’s office as a hate crime. This led to the punishment of seven individuals involved in acts of racism towards the Brazilian.
Before the match on Saturday, both teams united behind a banner displaying the message “with racism, there is no game” in Portuguese. Additionally, the match marked the Brazil debut of Newcastle midfielder Joelinton, who opened the scoring by tapping in a rebound after 27 minutes.
Rodrygo extended the lead with a second goal, only for Guinea’s Serhou Guirassy to pull one back before halftime.
During the second half, Brazil reverted to their customary yellow shirts and blue shorts. Their dominance continued as defender Eder Militao netted the third goal in the 47th minute, followed by Vinicius converting his penalty to secure the win.