Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink: Mourinho has black players at Benfica. How the hell must they feel?'

"We keep on getting dragged back into it. It's like we have to start all over again. It never ends. During his time at Atletico Madrid he sometimes heard racist chants, and once, walking out of a stadium, was spat on by supporters. I was the only one being spat on, and I was the only black player in the team really, he says. Nobody helped me."

"It makes you feel worthless. It makes you feel like you're a piece of shit. Everybody moved on. It wasn't really spoken of. People saw it. What can you do when you stand by yourself? Hasselbaink says he didn't have it as bad as Vinicius, who has been allegedly racially abused 20 times in eight years at Real Madrid—most of them in Spain."

"We all think he has said something, because why is he covering his mouth? Hasselbaink says. But we cannot prove it. That is still a grey area. In the name of law, you have to give him the benefit of the doubt."

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink reflects on football's persistent racism problem, which has affected him throughout his career and continues today. He experienced racist chants and physical abuse during his time at Atletico Madrid, including being spat upon by supporters while being the only Black player on the team. Recent incidents involving Vinicius Junior, who has allegedly faced racial abuse 20 times in eight years at Real Madrid, demonstrate the problem remains unresolved. Hasselbaink expresses concern about proving racism accusations, noting the difficulty in establishing guilt when perpetrators cover their mouths, leaving cases in legal grey areas where benefit of doubt must be given.

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