UEFA's apparent failure to act on abusive chanting towards Vinicius Junior at Champions League games shows it 'cannot even do the bare minimum' to protect players from racism.
Atletico Madrid and Barcelona fans appeared to engage in racist and abusive chants aimed at the Brazilian prior to their Champions League last-16 matches against Inter Milan and Napoli last month, with Vinicius urging UEFA to act at the time.
However, neither incident featured in a list of sanctions issued by UEFA's control, ethics and disciplinary body covering those games which was issued on Thursday. UEFA has offered up no explanation for the apparent absence of any sanction, or said whether the chants remain the subject of an investigation.
European football's governing body also issued no comment at the time social media footage circulated of the chanting.
Delroy Corinaldi, the executive director of the Black Footballers Partnership which aims to increase the voice and influence of black footballers, said in a statement issued to the PA news agency: 'Black footballers love the game.
'And Vinicius has every right to expect the support of the game which extends beyond words of 'anti-racism' and a slap on the wrist for offenders. On this occasion, they seem to have failed to even do that.
'UEFA and the governing bodies are showing Europe's footballing community that they cannot even do the bare minimum to protect black players.
'Any failure to act brings home the lack of diversity and representation in the decision-making roles within football and the need for game to be held to account. It is time black footballers were seen as more than just entertainers simply there to be abused.'
Atletico and Barca fans were filmed chanting about Vinicius close to their teams' stadiums, rather than inside them. It is understood UEFA can investigate incidents which occur in a stadium precinct, not just inside, and take reports from other sources into account, in addition to its match delegates.
Vinicius responded to a post on X about the Atletico chants by saying: 'I hope you have already thought about their punishment @ChampionsLeague @UEFA.
'It's a sad reality that even happens in games where I'm not present!'
Real announced on March 15 they had filed a complaint with the Spanish legal authorities over the 'racist and hateful insults' aimed at the 23-year-old.
Vinicius broke down in tears at a press conference on March 25 when asked about the racist abuse he has suffered.
'It's exhausting because you feel like you are alone. I've made so many official complaints, but no one is ever punished,' he said.
'More and more I'm losing my desire to play, but I'll keep fighting.'
His Real team-mate, England midfielder Jude Bellingham, has also called for more to be done to tackle racism.
'No one deserves that (abuse) so it's a call-out for the people who run the game. I doubt it will happen,' Bellingham said.
'You have to play your game and hope the people look after you - they are not doing it well enough at the moment.'
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has called for a 'strong resolution' on racism when FIFA's members meet for the organisation's next Congress in Bangkok on May 17.
Infantino said: 'Congress will mark a milestone in FIFA's ongoing efforts to fight racism with new and stricter measures to be applied worldwide in co-operation with all our member associations and the confederations.'