Real Madrid president faces backlash from Namibian Ballon d’Or voter – ‘I see a frustrated person’ | OneFootball

The Ballon d’Or being awarded to Rodri instead of Vinicius Jr. has sparked ongoing frustration at Real Madrid.

Many at the club, including President Florentino Perez, have openly criticised the decision, believing that Vinicius was more deserving of the accolade.

Perez, during a recent Assembly, expressed strong disapproval of the France Football award, questioning the credibility of the voting process and the countries involved.

Perez questioned the system

Perez pointed out changes made by UEFA to the voting system, highlighting that the points each journalist could assign to players were increased significantly, from six to 15.

He also criticised the inclusion of votes from countries with smaller populations, some of which he claimed did not rank Vinicius even within the top ten. He suggested that without the votes from four specific countries, Vinicius would have emerged victorious.

Among the nations he mentioned were Namibia, Uganda, Albania, and Finland. He even noted that a Finnish journalist admitted to an error and subsequently resigned.

Reaction from Namibia

The journalist from Namibia has criticised Florentino Perez. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

Unsurprisingly, these remarks did not go unanswered. Sheefeni Nicodemus, a journalist from Namibia who participated in the voting process, responded strongly to Perez’s claims in an interview.

Nicodemus dismissed Perez’s comments as those of someone venting frustration over the outcome.

“I suspect that these are the words of a person who is frustrated,” he began saying as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.

He also challenged the notion that journalists from smaller countries should not have a significant vote, stating that such remarks imply a sense of superiority from larger footballing nations.

“Mr Perez feels that people from my country and the other countries mentioned do not have a meaningful vote because we are inferior people.”

Nicodemus argued that if his nationality disqualified him in Perez’s view, the same logic would question any disagreement with journalists from major footballing countries.

“If I were from the major footballing nations and I did not agree with his opinion, what would be your argument?” he said.

His response added another layer to the debate, raising important questions about the fairness and inclusivity of global football awards.