Vinícius and Brazil teammates wear black shirts in stand against racism

Brazil sent a message against racism by swapping its bright yellow shirts for an all-black look during a friendly against Guinea in Barcelona on Saturday. Brazil said this was the first time its outfield players have worn black shirts. They changed back to yellow for the second half. Forward Vinícius Júnior, appearing for Brazil, has been racially abused in Spain this season while playing for his Real Madrid club at away games.

Another alleged racist incident occurred on Saturday before the friendly. The abuse reportedly happened to a friend and adviser of Vinicius, Felipe Silveira, at the stadium, the Brazilian Football Confederation said. “The fight against racism, a crime that needs to stop around the world, is also why we are here,” CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues said in a statement. “That’s also why our national team played the first half of the match in black. And today, once again, another criminal was publicly exposed.” At Espanyol’s stadium, Brazil and Guinea posed in front of a banner that read “With racism, there is no game” in Portuguese. Vinícius and his teammates also took a knee.

Vinícíus added a goal from the penalty spot to round off a 4-1 win for the five-time world champions. On Thursday, Vinícius agreed to join a revived FIFA task force to tackle racism in soccer. Brazil plays Senegal in Lisbon on Tuesday and will continue its anti-racism campaign.